Greek salad - with or without orzo

Couscous

Corn salad - with or without beans

Taco salad

Cobb salad

Steak salad

I eat a LOT of salads in summer :))

I do a lot of salads all year long, but rarely anything that has a recipe. I just make it up to fit what's at hand. Recently, I've been making shrimp salads maybe once per month. All different vegetable collections. The surprisingly good one I mentioned before with broccoli slaw. This Spring, I figured out that Point Reyes blue cheese is good crumbled in salads (I don't care for the more pungent and funky blues in salads at all and tend to eat them off the top separately, if so served). I also learned that a very fine drizzle of Mike's Hot Honey can boost the flavor of a salad that's missing a bit. I've gotten much more tolerant of adding random leftovers into a salad, especially meats. they don't have to match the theme or flavor, but meats are much better torn than cut in salad.

I like pretty much any and all salads! They aren’t really season specific for me.

Here are two salads DD made in Marseille this week

This is wedge, creamy dressing, quinoa. Next time she wants beet microgreens. Myself I’d pass them under the broiler.

This is peach caprese salad with a burrata and lardons.

Broccoli salad made with freshly picked broccoli from my garden.

other ingredients:

Bacon

Red onion

Golden raisins

Sunflower seeds

Mayo

Apple cider vinegar

sugar

I'll be making a batch this weekend

Shrimp Louie. I use this dressing, and just use the smallest frozen cooked shrimp available. In California I could get the tiny bay shrimp. HB egg, avocado, cherry tomatoes, olives, cukes and onions (I prefer marinated together), and Louis dressing.

https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/shrimp-louie-salad-11880824

PS, I don't use Old Bay, cause I don't like it.

“They aren’t really season specific for me.”

Good point, John!

”Corn salad - with or without beans”

Agree! I like this one…with beans.

Dressing
1 small clove garlic
Pinch salt
3 T. fresh lime juice
1/2 tsp. kosher salt (to taste)
1/4 tsp. chili powder
1/4 cup olive oil

Salad
1 cup fresh corn kernels (from about 2 ears)
1 orange bell pepper, diced
1/4 cup chopped red onion
1 T. olive oil
1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1 hass avocado, halved, seeded and diced
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro, leaves and stems

Make the dressing: Smash the garlic clove, sprinkle with a pinch of salt, and, with the flat side of a large knife, mash and smear the mixture to a coarse paste. Whisk the garlic paste, lime juice, salt and chili powder together in a bowl. Gradually whisk in the olive oil, starting with a few drops and then adding the rest in a steady stream.

For the salad: Cook the corn, bell pepper, and onions in the olive oil until beginning to brown over medium-high heat in a skillet. Toss in the black beans and cook until warm. Add the dressing and toss to coat evenly. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Remove from the heat and gently fold in the tomatoes, avocado, and cilantro.

Sounds good (except the cilantro!)! But that's another kind of salad I just make up as I go. Love corn salad, but I rarely bother with beans, and mostly go for crunchy. As written ^^^ sounds delicious.

A truly Summer salad I just remembered, is what my mother called ”Hollywood Bowl Salad”. I.e., good for fancy picnics, and doesn't go weird in the unsheltered, late afternoon heat. The idea was to get there early enough to park where leaving would be prompt, since it's all lines of stack parking, and you could get stuck for half an hour behind a car whose driver was dawdling with friends or in the restroom.

So, the trick is nothing that will wilt. The dressing is a very light vinaigrette with lots of well soaked (i.e., make ahead) minced herbs and a little sweetness (details to suit oneself). Back then there were wonderful frozen hydroponic marble shaped carrot balls. In lieu of those, small carrots cut to length similar to diameter will do, lightly steamed to tender to bite into but just barely crunchless, not soft. mini-pattipan squash (button sized) or small cut to similar size, also very lightly steamed. Cherry tomatoes, raw. Pearl onions, if you like, steamed to cooked. Sliced hearts of palm to similar size of the rest. Baby pepper rings. Etc. Things that hold up well, all as close as can be to the size and shape of marbles, open to lot's of interpretation, though what I've mentioned, except the onions, are the core items. Let the salad soak in the dressing in the fridge for several hours, ahead of leaving.

plllog, I could make a meal out of the corn and black bean salad. Gotta have the cilantro!☺️ Hollywood Bowl Salad…sounds good!👍🏻

I like a certain boughten ”Asian” salad which keeps nicely in the fridge. Then, in my grab and go salad, I invest a couple minutes picking out the larger pieces of cilantro. It just depends on your genetic heritage. 😁

ETA: I just realized—corn and black beans is the base of my friend’s ”cowboy caviar” not too different from your salad, but, of course, chiles rather than sweet peppers. Definately meal worthy. And probably why I made a lighter corn salad to be different. ;)

I make Crab Louis instead of shrimp, and when I make the dressing, I use homemade chili sauce instead of ketchup. I do not keep ketchup in the house - if I want something tomato based, I use marinara sauce. Ketchup is too sweet for me. The last time I bought it was to make okonomiyaki sauce, but now I just buy the sauce already made.

I love Cobb salad but do not make it. It is one of my favorite things to order when we go out, however.

I frequently make Tuscan Kale Salad, and I also like beet salad with Gorgonzola and black walnuts, although I generally do not like nuts in salads.

Lars, we had crab louie as well as shrimp when we were in Monterey, but alas, crab on the east coast is altogether different. So shrimp have to do.

“I invest a couple minutes picking out the larger pieces of cilantro.”

Do you notice any essence of it left?

So, my hypthesis is that I have one allele of the relevant gene. Father had true hatred of it. Mother liked it. I dislike the flavor if it's forward, but can tolerate little bits, like in salsa. In the salad, I'm okay with up to a quarter inch or so of one leaf at a time, if there,s not too much over all. If I taste ”cilantro” rather than just some cilantro in the background, I want to spit it out. (Never in company.)

I completely get it. I’m the same with tarragon. I can take a hint but that’s about it.

I used to enjoy my subscription to Fine Cooking. I kept every issue back to 2003. This shrimp salad is one I’ve made many times with either grilled or roasted shrimp. I’ve only served it in the margarita glasses twice. A little extra fussing but kind of fun. I buy the shrimp peeled/deveined. Cherry tomatoes are also good here. I always add some cilantro as a garnish, too.😊 The I took a photo of the magazine page (from August 2003) with a pic.

Grilled Shrimp "Margarita" with Avocados and Tomatoes

1 lb. large shrimp in the shell (about 24), thawed completely if frozen and blotted dry
2 T. olive oil
1/4 cup tequila
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
2 T. ketchup
2 T. green Tabasco
Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper
2 cups diced ripe garden or heirloom tomatoes (from about 3 medium)
2 medium to large ripe avocados, diced
1 bunch scallions (green tops only), thinly sliced
1 small white or red onion, finely diced (optional)
Lime wedges for garnish
Coarse sea salt (optional)

Place shrimp in large bowl and mix with the olive oil until well coated. Grill until pink and almost cooked through, 4 to 5 mintues, turning once halfway through. Cool completely.

About an hour before serving, whisk together the tequila, lime juice, orange juice, ketchup and Tabasco (or make several hours ahead). Peel and devein the shrimp, cut into large pieces (about 1/2 inch), and toss with tequila mixture. Cover and refrigerate for one hour. Just before serving, season shrimp mixture with salt and pepper. (Alternatively, omit the kosher salt at this stage and sprinkle on a coarse sea salt, like fleur de sel, just before serving.) Gently fold in tomatoes, avocados and scallions, mixing well. Using a slotted spoon, portion mixture into individual serving bowls or margarita glasses. Garnish with a sprinkling of onion (if using), a wedge of lime and the optional sea salt.

That sounds really god! I had some nearly flavorless bay shrimp which I "improved" with all real ingredients, boughten Bloody Maria mix. It was somewhere on the same path, but your recipe is brighter and zingier, I think. i don't understand just using the scallion greens then adding onion, though. I'd just use the whites as well, if onion were wanted.

So, I was just making this salad, which I do make seasonally, and as I was cleaning up, I thought, duh! That's an actual Summer salad! And dead easy given the right ingredients.

2-3 large, fleshy, normal zucchini, however much will fit in your bowl

Equivalent of 2 large commercial lemons, but preferably ripe off the tree, and sour. Eureka is fine, but the newer sweeter lemons won't work.

Black poppy seeds

Spiralize the zucchini on the "udon" setting (as thick as possible). Transfer to bowl with cover. Squeeze lemon juice all over it, catching any lemon seeds. Sprinkle on 1/3-1/2 tsp. poppy seeds and mix well. Cover and allow to marry.

I have a couple that are really popular amongst my friends and are frequently requested for potlucks or shared meals...One is Mollie Katzen's Cold Gingered Asparagus, https://www.molliekatzen.com/recipes/recipe.php?recipe=cold_asparagus

Another is Ann Burrell's Raw Asparagus salad. I don't often see asparagus served raw, so it's a bit different.

https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/anne-burrell/asparagus-pecorino-and-red-onion-salad-recipe-1917523

I also favor cold Asian noodle salads...I have several recipes I use. My latest favorite is Spring Roll Salad....all the flavors and ingredients from fresh spring rolls, served as a salad:

https://wholeandheavenlyoven.com/2022/06/06/spring-roll-salad-with-spicy-ginger-dressing/

In addition to LJ’s Brocolli Salad, I make potato salad the most.

Sherry, same with me regarding potato salad, including for this Sunday.

I love salads. Even basic salads. It doesn’t require summertime ingredients, but I think of the old style of Bush’s 3 Bean Salad and I want to make it for every for Memorial Day, Independence Day, and Labor Day. Potato salad goes great with it. :)

Two years ago, I did a culinary tour of Italy. Generally we ate out, but one evening the chef who was leading the tour made a salad supper. This was one of the salads. It is a favorite of mine!

Is that saffron threads or powdered?

Sounds great!

Is that saffron threads or powdered?

I don’t know, but I would guess threads. The one time I followed the recipe exactly, I used threads. Truth be told, I usually cheat and use packaged saffron rice. I don’t like saffron and the flavor is nearly non-existent in the packaged stuff.

bbstx, that sounds like good flavors together. I agree about easing up with the oil.

I’ve never tried it but I see Ina Garten has this version of Paella Salad. However, it‘s definitely heavier with shrimp, chicken, mussels and sausage. I’d definitely be fine with just the shrimp.

Ina - Summer Paella Salad

OMG!! I love saffron! (Good strategy for not liking it but getting the color.) But then, I grew up with it. Sometimes, when I open the spice cabinet where little spilled bits whap one in the nose, I'll grab the fenugreek or saffron just to get a delicious whiff. :)

For others who might be looking for good saffron, I recommend Vanilla Saffron Imports.

It occurs to me, on checking out Chloebud's link with picture, that it sounds so good to me because I used to eat and love my mother's leftover paella cold. :) I'm not big on cold rice, but the paella rice is great at any temperature. :)

I find saffron delicious, and bought some the other month for a bourride. I think I may need to make paella again.

A panzanella is pretty much on regular rotation in the summer, as is a caprese. I do appreciate a watermelon-feta-mint salad as well. Or just a plain fresh fruit salad with the findings at the summer farmer's market. I like a good peach with goat cheese salad. Also on the regular, but usually from a restaurant, is a vietnamese noodle salad with a traditional vinaigrette (really more salad adjacent, like the traditional noodle dish but with more vegetables in the mix).