Fresh Summer Salads

Cool, Crisp and Colorful

I don’t know about you, but I could sure use something cool, crisp and colorful when it gets this hot outside. Luckily, summer produce does not disappoint. With crunchy snap peas, crisp cabbage and lettuces, sweet watermelon, and juicy nectarines, these salad recipes are the ultimate in quenching and satisfying dishes. Enjoy—and stay cool!

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Snap Pea, Tomato and Watermelon Salad with Feta

Photo by Quentin Bacon, food styling by Suzanne Lenzer, and prop styling by Maeve Sheridan

This watermelon salad is a refreshing expression of summer, with chunks of sweet watermelon, plump ripe tomatoes, crisp snap peas, and fresh mint tossed with a sprinkle of creamy salty feta cheese to make all the flavors dance.

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Nectarine and Fennel Salad with Crispy Prosciutto

Photo by Quentin Bacon

This fennel salad is the product of a serendipitous discovery my daughter Bella made one day in the kitchen, a kind of you-got-your-peanut-butter-in-my-chocolate moment. I was slicing fresh fennel for a salad while she was snacking on a nectarine. After sneaking a nibble of the fennel between bites of fruit she quickly declared the combination a must-try. Indeed, sweet juicy nectarine and crisp fennel are a winning duo, made even more scrumptious, as I discovered later in my test kitchen, tossed in orange-shallot vinaigrette and topped with a savory crumble of crisped prosciutto.

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New Classic Coleslaw

Photo by Tom McCorkle for The Washington Post

This slaw has all the familiar flavors of a classic cole slaw — cool, crisp cabbage, sweet shreds of carrot and a kick of sliced red onion in a lusciously creamy dressing. But this version is much more healthful, because rather than the typical heaps of mayonnaise, it has just a touch, and it gets much of its creaminess from Greek yogurt.

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