This 5-Ingredient Summer season Salad Is as Easy as It Will get

May 19, 2025

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Why It Works

Younger, diminutive yellow squash sourced from a farmers market or high quality produce part has skinny skins and dense, tender flesh—excellent for slicing skinny and consuming uncooked in salads.
The goat cheese’s creamy, lactic tang resonates with the easy, citrusy dressing.
Fennel provides a refined pure sweetness and crisp texture.

I comply with plenty of cooks on social media, however many of the meals they submit footage of, whereas enjoyable to ogle, would not translate effectively for the house prepare dinner. Each from time to time, although, I see one thing that manages to be each superbly easy and likewise inspiring. A latest instance: I used to be scrolling by my Instagram feed and got here throughout a photograph from the Portland, Oregon, chef Jenn Louis of a salad of thinly sliced uncooked yellow summer season squash and fennel, crumbled goat cheese, and dill. I could not shake the concept, so now, as a part of our Best Summer season Ever—a group of seasonal recipes utilizing not more than 4 predominant elements (not together with pantry staples)—I’ve determined to tear it off wholesale.

The one device I would advocate having available for a salad like it is a good mandoline or vegetable slicer, because it makes such straightforward work of getting these elegant slivers, with constantly excellent outcomes. You’ll be able to take a look at our favourite cheap ones right here.

Other than that, it is so simple as it sounds. First, get your palms on some very nice younger and tender summer season squash—you recognize, the small ones, not the older, overgrown ones which have massive spongy facilities and harder pores and skin. A farmers market is usually your finest guess for high quality summer season produce, however some grocers and supermarkets with good produce sections may be a helpful supply. Slice the squash actually thinly on the mandoline, then comply with it with a fennel bulb on the similar thickness setting.

Severe Eats / Vicky Wasik

Add some chopped dill, extra-virgin olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper, and provides all of it a superb toss. Then crumble in some contemporary goat cheese and provides it yet another very mild toss earlier than serving. (I attempt to reduce how a lot I toss the salad as soon as the goat cheese is added, since I desire that it keep in clumps and never flip right into a milky coating on every part, which may occur when you stir plenty of moist elements repeatedly.)

The completed salad is a mix of tender, crisp, and creamy textures, and candy, aromatic, and tangy flavors—it could be easy, nevertheless it tastes subtle sufficient to look on any restaurant menu.

July 2015