ON THIS WEEK’S episode of Dinner SOS, test kitchen director and host Chris Morocco is joined by cookbook author Jess Damuck to help Shivani level up her salad game.
Shivani loves a big fresh salad and tries to serve one with dinner every night. But she finds that grocery shopping on Mondays means she is left with wilted vegetables by the end of the week. Trying to match the complexity of the salads she orders from restaurants is leaving her feeling like she has no chance of having the produce or energy to make Friday salads just as exciting as Monday ones. Chris knows he should bring in Jess Damuck, a former Bon Appétit staffer and author of the excellent vegetable-forward cookbooks Health Nut: A Feel-Good Cookbook and Salad Freak: Recipes to Feed a Healthy Obsession.
Jess creates recipes that are really fresh and really nourishing, but are also easy to make at the end of a busy day (and don’t require too much cleanup). She suggests that Shivani rethink her definition of salad, to think beyond leafy greens and consider “saladifying” a multitude of seasonal fruits and vegetables. Her other key strategy is to prioritize the ingredients least likely to spoil, starting with tender fruits and vegetables at the beginning of the week and gradually shifting to sturdier stuff like carrots, jicama, cabbage, or even Little Gem lettuce.
Lastly, Jess tells Shivani to go beyond croutons as crunchy elements; crispy chickpeas or toasted nuts and seeds are all fair game. Shivani repeats again and again that she loves a salad with cheese, so Jess suggests that she try a creamy dressing—her secret go-to that she makes all the time is just lemon juice and mayonnaise. Jess gives Shivani three salad recipes from her latest cookbook—Watermelon, Shiso, Plum, and Salt; Cantaloupe, Cucumbers, Lime, and Mint; and Crunchy Beans. All three forego lettuce for crunchy vegetables and craveable dressings.
Listen now to hear if Shivani finds new pep in her salad step with help from Chris and Jess.
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