Recipes and photos by Lauren Furey
The best summer salads are the ones where you make the dressing fresh — a simple step that instantly elevates every bowl. It’s an easy upgrade that carries you salad after salad, turning peak-season produce into something special. Below are some accessible, chef-approved recipes perfect for first-time dressing makers and anyone looking to bring extra brightness to their summer table.
Niçoise-‘ish’ Porch Salad with 7-Minute Egg
Yields: 4 servings
I have been a lifelong fan of what I thought were true Niçoise salads: a mix of raw and cooked vegetables, including but not limited to potatoes, green beans and radishes. I thought tuna, capers, olives and eggs were the required building blocks of a Niçoise salad. I have since learned that the Niçoise salad started off much simpler and has evolved into many different iterations.
My version is informed by the produce growing in Charleston and my yearning for a warm, jammy egg that nearly melts into an acidic, herbaceous vinaigrette. Use your imagination, make it your own, and, if possible, eat this salad on a summer day on your porch.
Salad Ingredients
- 3/4 pounds mixed baby potatoes
- 1/2 pounds green beans
- 4 eggs, ideally local Charleston eggs
- 2 tablespoons capers, drained and rinsed
- Handful of pitted olives, drained (I prefer locally-owned Olinda olives)
- 1 stalk celery, thinly sliced on the diagonal
- 1 tablespoon chopped celery leaves
- Handful of halved cherry tomatoes or other chopped tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
- 1 small can unsalted or low-sodium tuna (about 5 oz.), drained
Dressing Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- Kosher salt, to taste
- Cracked black pepper, to taste
- 1 teaspoon whole-grain or Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 1 clove garlic, grated
Instructions
Bring three medium pots of salted water to a boil. Prepare two ice baths in large bowls. In one pot, carefully add the eggs and lower the water to a simmer. Cook for 7 minutes.
Remove the eggs with a slotted spoon and transfer them to an ice bath. Add more ice if needed to halt cooking.
Cook the potatoes for 7–10 minutes. Drain and set aside.
Cook the green beans for 3 1/2 minutes, then drain and transfer them to the second ice bath.
To make the dressing, whisk together the red wine vinegar, olive oil, salt, pepper, mustard, honey and garlic.
To assemble the salad, cut the potatoes and green beans into bite-size pieces and combine them in a large bowl with the capers, olives, celery, celery leaves, tomatoes and parsley. Toss to combine. Carefully quarter the eggs and add to the bowl with the tuna. Toss lightly, being careful not to crush the tuna or eggs.
The salad keeps well in the refrigerator for a day or two.
Golden Beet and Radicchio Salad with Pistachio Vinaigrette
Yield: 4 salad-course servings
Pistachios are endlessly versatile. Whether eaten on their own, incorporated into pesto or crushed atop cannoli, they provide a rich nuttiness with subtle sweet undertones. Blending the pistachios into a salad dressing allows their flavor to be more evenly distributed throughout the salad rather than just as a garnish sprinkled on top.
Salad Ingredients
- 2 large golden beets, trimmed and scrubbed clean
- 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil for roasting the beets (plus 3 tablespoons for the dressing below)
- 1 small head radicchio, washed and torn into bite-size pieces
- 1 peach, pitted and thinly sliced (optional)
- 3–4 ounces goat cheese (optional)
- 1/4 cup pistachio kernels (buy them pre-roasted, or roast them in the oven at 350°F for 10 minutes)
- 1/4 cup water
Dressing Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar or lemon juice
- 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh basil
- Kosher salt, to taste
- Freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a small baking dish.
Place the beets in the prepared dish and drizzle with 1 teaspoon olive oil. Cover the dish tightly with foil and roast for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until the beets are easily pierced with a fork.
When cool enough to handle, peel the beets with your hands. Cut into quarters, then into eighths.
To make the dressing, combine the 3 tablespoons olive oil, pistachios, water, Dijon mustard, honey, white wine vinegar or lemon juice, basil, salt and pepper in a small food processor or blender. Blend until smooth.
The dressing will keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, but make sure to re-mix or shake it before serving.
To assemble, toss the radicchio, beets and peach (if using) with just enough dressing to coat. Add the goat cheese and serve immediately.
Lauren Furey is a Charleston-based private chef and host/producer of Now We’re Cookin’ on SCETV. She specializes in coastal Italian and Southern cuisine, creating custom menus with local purveyors. Season 2 premiered in March featuring eight Lowcountry-inspired episodes filmed in a Charleston beach house. Watch episodes at: www.scetv.org/watch/now-were-cookin and visit www.laurenfurey.com and Instagram @LaurenSFurey.
