Salad

Who doesn't love toasted cheese? Here it adds tang to a Mediterranean-inspired salad of frisée, broiled bell peppers, and shiitake mushrooms.

Studded with delectably nutty wheat berries, this substantial salad of charred tomatoes, peppers, and tofu truly deserves its billing as a main course.

There are plenty of steak-and-onion salads, but none with a dressing like this one. Worcestershire sauce has just enough acid to balance the vinaigrette's oil.

Beets are high in folate, a vitamin that may help ward off heart disease; this dish delivers 1/3 of your daily requirement.

Veal in Switzerland often presupposes sauerkraut, but we prefer a lighter take. With crunchy radishes and bitter frisée, this salad brings its vinegar note in the form of a spicy mustard dressing.

Chuchi e palmito Bites of chayote are a burst of refreshment here. A slight acidity from the hearts of palm and the lime juice, along with chopped herbs, makes this one of the brightest salads you've ever tasted.

Contrasting textures — crunchy salad and creamy chickpeas spread over freshly grilled pita — make this vegetarian meal something truly special.

Flavorful smoked mackerel (a nice change from tuna) stars in an effortless combination of crisp, refreshing ingredients that require no cooking.

Fresh radishes (plentiful at the market this time of year) add color and crunch to this slightly sweet vinaigrette-based slaw.

This dish from Shawn Edelman of Ruby Foo's serves up a third of your daily requirement of vitamin C.

This is delicious served either warm or at room temperature.

An unusual combination of flavors — sweet, savory, and briny.

Here's a very simple salad that's loaded with Southeast Asian flavor.

Ensalada de jícama con melón Editor's note: The recipe and introductory text below are from Fonda San Miguel: Thirty Years of Food and Art, by Tom Gilliland, Miguel Ravago, and Virginia B. Wood. For more on Cinco de Mayo, click here. Chef Miguel Ravago also shared some helpful tips exclusively with Epicurious, which we've added at the bottom of the page. Although many fresh condiments in Mexican cuisine are called pico de gallo ("rooster's beak"), this refreshing salad from the Mexican state of Jalisco is known as Pico de Gallo. Depending on the seasonal availability of fresh fruit, Miguel has found that the salad is equally good made with Rio Star grapefruit, pineapple, blood oranges, cantaloupe, watermelon, and honeydew melon. The contrast of sweet fruit, crunchy jícama, tangy lime juice, and a little dash of chili powder makes for a delightful palate cleanser.

Turkish cooking might sound exotic, but it's easy. Most of the ingredients are familiar, and combining them in new ways makes for an exciting and different way to eat. This is an excellent side salad for lamb chops. For a great small-plates dinner party menu that's modern Turkish cooking at its best, pick up the May issue of Bon Appétit.

Adding watercress to potato salad gives this old standby new life. We particularly like the contrast of the crisp, peppery green against the warm, vinegar- and mustard-spiced potatoes.

The light and clean Asian combination of shrimp and mango is treated to a touch of heat from a bit of fresh chile.