Dear reader,
Imagine you’re lying down on a chaise longue at the beach under the scorching sun. You're getting completely baked, you're sweating, your stomach starts growling, and you start seeing dark spots in front of you. Nobody would want a red curry chicken then. No, your brain (and body) immediately wants something cold and fulfilling, like a salad.
But here’s the issue. Lately, people have been acting very brave with salads. Dare I say too brave? Who woke up one day and decided to mix strawberries with the lettuce, or mango with chicken? And some have apples that camouflage as cucumbers. I’m sorry, but we need to talk about this culinary terrorism that my mom brought into our home.
Fruit isn’t the enemy. Fruit is beautiful. Fruit is what your grandmother cuts for you and leaves on the table while saying, “Eat, it’s good for you. It’ll make you taller.” Fruit is meant to be eaten alone — a cold, sweet treat, or maybe in sweets and cakes. But it has no business being in a salad. It simply should be put on trial for confusing my taste buds like that!
A summer salad has to be sour. Cucumbers, carrots, tomatoes, mint, and onions generously sauced with balsamic vinegar, olive oil, and spiced with a lot of sumac and salt. Cheese works too, but only parmesan, feta, or fresh mozzarella. And then after that’s done and eaten, you can make yourself a fruit salad. Would you put vegetables in a fruit salad? (fruit for thought)
To help you upgrade your summer salads, our team put together 11 chef recipes. And to be fair, out of all 11 recipes, there is only one that violates my golden rule. Chef Alan Geaam’s Cauliflower in two textures with avocado, mango, and coriander salad. Yes, it contains mangoes. I’m willing to look the other way because he has a Michelin star, and the other 10 recipes by our other chefs are completely fruit-free.
Pick your salad, keep it cold, make it as sour as you can, and sahtein! If you end up liking the mango one, I’ll let it slide. Let me know in the comment section...
And please don’t tell my mom I wrote this.
Melissa Manouchakian
Distribution editor
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