Tag Archives: easy salad recipe

Cuckoo for Cukes

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A very good cucumber salad, indeed.
A very good cucumber salad, indeed.

As the days warm, I excitedly ready my cucumber seedlings to plant.

Positioning them gently in pots of soil in my yard, I can’t help but already hunger for their snappy crunch and refreshing juiciness to use in salads of all kinds.

Including “Cucumber, Dates, Pistachios,” that’s as simple and straightforward as its name implies.

This light, bright salad is from “Very Good Salads” (Smith Street Books, 2022), of which I received a review copy.

It’s by Shuki Rosenboim and Louisa Allan, who own the proudly named Very Good Falafel in Melbourne, Australia, a tiny 20-seat cafe where falafel is a staple but the salads change regularly with the whim of the seasons.

The cookbook showcases 52 of those vibrant salads and vegetable dishes, from “Broad Bean and Macadamia-Stuffed Artichokes” in spring and “Frozen Grapes, Herbs, Zucchini Flowers” in summer to “Roasted Quince, Pearl Barley, Walnut, Pistachio, Saffron” in autumn and “Beetroot Dip, Pistachio Hazelnut Dukkah” in winter.

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Smashed Cucumbers with Sizzled Turmeric and Garlic

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Get smashing -- with cucumbers, that is.
Get smashing — with cucumbers, that is.

Every couple of years, Instagram blows up with the latest-greatest food blogger whose recipes and photos are so captivating that they are irresistible to anyone who happens to stumble upon them.

Meet the new “It” girl — if you haven’t already: Alison Roman.

The native of Los Angeles who now calls Brooklyn home is a regular columnist for the New York Times food section and Bon Appetit magazine.

Blonde and bubbly, she’s like the girl next door — who can not only cook, but will always invite you over to sit down at her table.

Because when it comes to entertaining, she believes in nothing fancy.

Indeed, that’s the title of her new cookbook, which encourages you to take a deep breath, and stop stressing about cooking for others.

“Nothing Fancy: Unfussy Food for Having People Over” (Clarkson Potter), of which I received a review copy, is all about making entertaining easy with fuss-free, crowd-pleasing dishes that make people feel at home from the get go.

Take a go at dishes such as “Mustardy Green Beans with Anchovyed Walnuts,” “One-Pot Chicken with Dates and Caramelized Lemons,” “Kimchi-Braised Pork with Sesame and Egg Yolk” and “Salted Honey Panna Cotta with Crushed Raspberries.”

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