Use these vinaigrettes and dressings to spice up your spring salad

When I was writing “Vinaigrettes and Other Dressings” (Harvard Common Press, 2013), I envisioned it as more than a collection of recipes. I hoped the book would encourage and teach people to cook, not just follow a recipe.

To further that goal, I included “Best Uses” with all the recipes and added seasonal variations to many of them. The book’s subtitle claims there are 60 recipes; there are really closer to 250.

A recipe is like training wheels on a bike. We need recipes when we’re handling unfamiliar ingredients and using techniques we don’t yet know. But once we learn our way around, we should be able to cook without a reference most of the time.

Julia Child said we learn to cook so we don’t have to rely on recipes. That doesn’t mean recipes are useless. They inspire us and guide us, even when we don’t need to follow them step by step.

The approach of one basic recipe or template followed by variations works well with salads of all kinds, from green salads to pasta salads. It’s also an excellent approach to bruschetta, polenta, potato soup, bread soup, risotto, paella and traditional tacos.

I eat this salad almost daily. Right now, we have outstanding greens — from micro greens to salad mixes with small or large leaves — available almost everywhere. The microgreens and delicate herb and flower petal mixtures from Earthworker Farms of Sebastopol are now sold at several local markets, including Community Market, Pacific and Andy’s as well as at the Sebastopol Farmers Market. When you have such fresh, delicious greens, you don’t need a lot of ingredients or bottled dressings.

The Simplest Green Salad

Makes 1 serving

3 large handfuls very fresh leafy salad greens

Kosher salt

Extra virgin olive oil

Juice of ½ lemon or 2 teaspoons vinegar of choice

Black pepper in a mill

Put the greens in a wooden bowl, sprinkle lightly with salt and toss gently. Drizzle with just enough olive oil to coat the leaves lightly; use your hands to turn the leaves gently.

Sprinkle with a little of the lemon juice or vinegar, turn again, taste and correct for acid-salt balance. Season with black pepper and enjoy right away.

Variations:

• Add a small handful of fresh herb leaves to the greens before salting them. Any combination of chives, Italian parsley, tarragon, chervil, salad burnet, savory, oregano, thyme, cilantro and mint will enhance the salad. I don’t recommend rosemary or dill, as they will dominate other flavors.

• Use a vegetable peeler to make curls of a favorite grating cheese and scatter them over the greens just before serving.

• Cut 3 or 4 radishes into paper-thin slices and add them to the greens before salting.

• Cut a small shallot into very thin slices and add to the greens before salting. Break 1 or 2 cubes of feta cheese or blue cheese into pieces and add to the salad before the pepper.

• Use lime juice as the salad’s acid and add half an avocado, cut into very thin diagonal slices, after adding the olive oil. Add cilantro leaves with the pepper.

• Use walnut oil and sherry vinegar. After tossing the greens with vinegar, add 2 tablespoons toasted walnuts, 1 to 2 ounces crumbled goat cheese and 1 tablespoon snipped fresh chives.

• When pomegranates are in season, use hazelnut oil instead of olive oil and use pomegranate vinegar as the acid. After tossing the greens with the vinegar, add about 2 tablespoons chopped toasted hazelnuts, 3 tablespoons pomegranate arils and about a teaspoon of grated orange zest.

Rice salads are very flexible, and the first way to vary them is with the rice. If you prefer brown rice, use it, but adjust cooking times. You’ll also need to do that with black rice, red rice and any other rice except white jasmine or basmati, which are the ones I like for spring and summer rice salads. In fall and winter, I sometimes add wild rice or brown rice, as the flavors of both are best with fall and winter foods.

Rice Salad for All Seasons, with Variations

Makes about 6 servings

1 cup dry jasmine or basmati rice

Kosher salt

Olive oil

Juice of 1 lemon

Black pepper in a mill

Warm Shallot Vinaigrette (recipe follows)

Seasonal ingredients, as listed below

Put the rice in a strainer, set the strainer in a large bowl and cover with water. Agitate the strainer, change the water and repeat several times. Tip the rice into the bowl, cover with water by about 3 inches and set aside for 20 to 30 minutes.

Drain the rice and put it into a medium saucepan. Add 2 cups of water, a generous tablespoon of salt and a light splash of olive oil and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat, cover the pan and simmer gently until the rice is tender, about 15 minutes. Without uncovering, remove from the heat, let rest for 15 minutes, uncover and fluff the rice with a fork.

Tip the rice into a large shallow serving bowl, squeeze the lemon juice over it, toss gently and set aside to cool.

Meanwhile, prepare the dressing and the other ingredients for variations, below.

Add the ingredients to the rice, drizzle with half the dressing and toss gently. Taste, correct for salt, season generously with black pepper, divide among individual serving bowls and top each serving with some of the remaining dressing. Alternately, add the remaining dressing to the bowl with the salad and serve family style.

Enjoy right away. Store leftovers, covered, in the refrigerator and bring to room temperature before enjoying.

Seasonal Variations

• Spring: 6 scallions, trimmed and cut into very thin rounds; 8 ounces asparagus, cut into 1-inch lengths and roasted; 1 cup blanched English peas; 1 cup blanched and peeled fresh fava beans; 5 or 6 small radishes, small dice; ⅓ cup shelled pistachios, lightly toasted; 3 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley; 1 tablespoon snipped fresh chives and/or 2 teaspoons chervil leaves.

• Summer: 2 small-medium zucchini, small dice; 2 cups multicolored cherry tomatoes, quartered; 1 red and 1 yellow sweet pepper, seared, seeded and cut into small dice; 6 ounces perline mozzarella (small pearl-sized balls) and/or a small handful fresh basil leaves, torn into pieces.

• Spicy Summer: 1 cup chopped tomatoes; 1 avocado, small dice; 1 cup cooked black beans; 2 cups fresh corn kernels, just cut from the cob; 2 roasted, peeled, seeded and diced poblanos; 1 minced serrano; small handful fresh cilantro leaves and/or 3 or 4 epazote leaves, torn into pieces.

• Fall: Arils of 1 pomegranate; 1 small red onion cut into small dice; ½ cup minced fresh cranberries; ½ cup walnut pieces, lightly toasted; zest of 2 oranges; ½ cup spearmint leaves, cut in thin slices; 3 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley and/or 3 or 4 medium radicchio leaves, cut into very thin ribbons.

This vinaigrette is simple and delicious; vegetarians and vegans can omit the pancetta. Be sure to taste and correct for acid and salt before using the dressing. If it tastes flat, add another pinch or two of salt; if it tastes flabby, it needs more lemon juice or vinegar.

Warm Shallot Vinaigrette

Makes about ¾ cup

½ cup extra virgin olive oil

2 shallots, minced

3 pancetta slices, minced, optional

2 garlic cloves, crushed and minced

Kosher salt

1 tablespoon best-quality white wine vinegar, plus more to taste

1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice, plus more to taste

Black pepper in a mill

2 tablespoons minced fresh Italian parsley or snipped chives

Pour a little of the olive oil into a small sauté pan set over medium-low heat, add the shallots and pancetta and sauté gently just until the shallots are soft and fragrant, 7 to 8 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté for 1½ minutes more. Season with salt.

Pour in the vinegar and lemon juice and simmer for 1 minute. Pour in the remaining olive oil and heat through. Add several turns of black pepper and remove from the heat.

Taste and correct for salt and acid as needed. Stir in the parsley and use right away.

Best uses: Roasted asparagus; roasted asparagus with poached eggs; salad of green beans, potatoes and cherry tomatoes; wild mushrooms over triple-cream cheese and leafy greens; feta cheese over frisée with toasted almonds and grilled grapes; poached leeks, with or without poached eggs and warm greens beans.

Michele Anna Jordan is the author of 24 books to date, including “Vinaigrettes and Other Dressings,” from which today’s recipes are adapted. Email her at michele@micheleannajordan.com.