Saladish: A Crunchier, Grainier, Herbier, Heartier, Tastier Way with Vegetables

by Ilene Rosen, Donna Gelb (Primary Contributor)

Winner, 2019 James Beard Award for Best Book of the Year in Vegetable-Focused Cooking

“Elevates salads from the quotidian to the thrilling.”
—The New York Times

A “saladish” recipe is like a salad, and yet so much more. It starts with an unexpectedly wide range of ingredients, such as Japanese eggplants, broccoli rabe, shirataki noodles, Bosc pears, and chrysanthemum leaves. It emphasizes contrasting textures—toothsome, fluffy, crunchy, crispy, hefty. And marries contrasting flavors—rich, sharp, sweet, and salty. Toss all together and voilà: an irresistible symphony that’s at once healthy and utterly delicious.

Cooking the saladish way has been Ilene Rosen’s genius since she unveiled the first kale salad at New York’s City Bakery almost two decades ago, and now she shares 100 fresh and creative recipes, organized seasonally, from the intoxicatingly aromatic (Toasty Broccoli with Curry Leaves and Coconut) to the colorfully hearty (Red Potatoes with Chorizo and Roasted Grapes). Each chapter includes a fun party menu, a timeline of preparation, and an illustrated tablescape to turn a saladish meal into an impressive dinner party spread.

Genres: Cookbooks, Cooking, Food, Nonfiction, Health, Food and Drink, Reference

207 pages, Hardcover

First published April 3, 2018

Reviews

[Lata · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Beautiful pictures (of course) accompany the salad recipes, some of which are a little ritzier than I tend to make. There are some great ideas here that I want to try out, and I can source most of the ingredients from my grocery store.

[Katy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Did a cover to cover flip through tonight and it’s so gorgeous. Lots of good inspiration for upcoming veggie season

[Maddy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rating the book as a book, trying recipes later

[Prima Seadiva · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars, half star off for that touch of today's precious pretentiousness which can discourage readers of slender means.
The food photography was quite nice but some shots did not depict the salad as it was described in the recipe.
Some recipes are simple, others more complex, some include ingredients too pricey for me but overall decent recipes and ideas you can apply to many ingredients. For a long time I have eaten a salad almost every day. The ingredients change with the seasons. If you have never made many salads with other than lettuce with store bought dressing you may be inspired by this variety in this book.

I first learned about the versatility of salad ingredients from The Salad Garden by Joy Larkcom. Though it focuses on growing it also includes many recipes.
It is still be my go to for salad ideas.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...

[lexi ✨ · Rating 3 out of 5]

not bad

i learned about new ways to throw different vegetables together, different styles of chopping & spices & seasonings i didn’t know about. it was really interesting to see the different salad combinations. i really liked the pictures as well it looked amazing. i also really liked how it was separated into which salads are best for spring, summer, fall & winter. this is the first cookbook i’ve read & i think it helped me out of my reading slump so i am happy about that.

[Jesica DeHart · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is so fresh it has crunch and will bring health to your munch! Salad gets a refreshing makeover with infinite options and this book will blow your salad making mind.

[Kelley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some great salady things I can’t wait to try.

[Tamara]

Lots of vegan recipes to try. Also, what's the deal with harissa? Worth it?

[anklecemetery · Rating 4 out of 5]

This cookbook is a delicious addition to the growing list of salad-focused titles. Categorized by season and accompanied by vivid photographs of all or most recipes (a plus, since many of them were combinations I was unfamiliar with), Saladish offers mix of techniques and flavors that elevate the idea of a salad. I loved the focus on flavor and texture, and am eagerly awaiting its publication. I also appreciated that the index was clearly written, even though the ARC lacks final pagination.

Netgalley Review.

[Harlow]

I don’t think I went to City Bakery. Sadly, closed after 30 years in 2019.

Photos are key to any cookbook and these are gorgeous. This is a James Beard Award winning cookbook.

Always looking for wfpbno, dairy free ideas. A few new possibilities thanks to Rosen
I discovered this book from a NYPL summer cooking list.

Snap Peas and Other Things Spring (page 54), I never buy snap peas. That was before page 54 and page 56

A few other combinations are new to me and I look forward to tasting them:

*Cucumbers with black sesame seeds, sweet lime
*Bosc pear and fennel slaw
*sunchoke and endive slaw
*black-eyed peas with blood oranges and chipotle

What was that “A Dinner of No” menu?

[False · Rating 3 out of 5]

A contemporary method of preparing seasonal salads. I saved a few recipes to try, but overall, when you have to buy less than common ingredients or invest in the creation and preparation of equally odd sauces, you have to factor in costs and labor for one salad. Yes, it's "that" kind of book. Pickled mustard seeds, Yuzu Kosho, Shichimi Tograshi, Fennel Pollen and Goji Berries aren't staples on my kitchen shelves. And somehow the idea of "tofu skin" salad is less than appealing.

[Claire · Rating 3 out of 5]

Many, many oddly specific ingredients and unique flavor combos. I have access to Asian grocers and a fabulous farmers’ market, but even then, some of these salads just don’t appeal to me. But that’s okay!

I got inspired to make taverna-style cherry tomatoes by mixing them with dried oregano, sumac (something I do have in my spice rack), feta, cucumber, and olive oil. Very delicious.

The photography is good but some of the pictures are just ingredient closeups or half-assembled salads, which sometimes make it harder to visualize the full dish. Cute handrawn watercolor(?) illustrations are nice, and the detailed appendix, which sorts recipes by whether they are vegetarian, vegan, and/or gluten free, is a handy resource for those with dietary restrictions.

Overall, an intriguing look at new ways to prepare vegetables, which I suppose is the whole point. But some of the methods are just too time consuming or fussy for my tastes.

[LibraryDanielle · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent cookbook. Not bad, but not super amazing. It did have photos of most/all (I had an ebook galley) recipes, which is a must for me, but the format was off (again, ebook). Definitely not for picky eaters or those who aren't super adventurous, but a solid cookbook for libraries. Many of the recipes had ingredients that were outside the norm, so specialty items for the average cook, which brought my review down a bit. I feel like this is a great library style cookbook- best to check out for the one or two recipes you'll make over and over, but not one that I would purchase for my own collection. I did enjoy how the recipes were organized by growing season though.

[Anna-Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I signed this book out of the library after seeing it in a bookstore and feeling uncertain about how much I'd like the recipes. I am trying to get inspired to eat more/different vegetables on a daily basis, however, the recipes in here often have "exotic" ingredients that most people don't have on hand. There's only one recipe that I would really like to try (and I will try it), but overall this book was not as inspiring as I hoped it would be. I will say that it is a beautiful book with amazing photography to accompany the recipes.

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very interesting cookbook! Not 100% vegetarian, but the majority of the recipes are vegetarian and the remainder are adaptable. There’s also a table in the back of the book for vegan and gluten free recipes. The book is loosely arranged by seasons and on top of recipes, there are several “choose your own adventure” types of instructions. My only quibble is that some of the recipes tend towards over complication and somewhat obscure ingredients. On the whole, an interesting cookbook that is great any time of year but especially perfect in the summer.

[Lauren Kozilski · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a great book to check out of the library, glean some ideas from, and send back for someone else to use. I won't be adding it to my personal collection (it's already quite large, and I can't justify adding a book I may never pick up again).

Lots of specialty items (chrysanthemum leaves? French eggplant?), which left a bit of an odd taste in my mouth. It did, however, get me to think outside the box when it comes to my salad routine, so it was great in that respect.

[Jennie · Rating 4 out of 5]

You can roast grapes and put them in a salad?

This book makes boring salad a thing of the past. One look through this book and you can see why Ilene gained a cult following with her dishes.

Vibrant, fresh, creative, lush and new I am excited to prep meals with these new recipes.

Besides lovely pictures the book helps you to build salads your way as well as the equipment that you need to do so.

A must for every cookbook lover!

Highly recommended!

[Nick · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was looking for some salad inspiration this winter — and the wild mixes of grains, pickles, greens and more here are inspiring. The photography is also outstanding! But as I feared, interesting salads are probably complex ones, too, and most of these recipes require lots of often perishable or exotic ingredients. I’ll make a few — the roasted and raw fennel salad in particular — but most seem restaurant special purpose, rather than the home cook’s Tuesday night supper.

[Samantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really really really do like this cookbook. I can find most of the ingredients in my local grocery store (South Georgia, United States). Some of the recipes are a little involved - to make some eggplant boats, I had to two additional recipes. I'll find a use for the sweet lime vinegar.

Overall, the recipes look very tasty and it definitely gets me JAZZED to eat more vegetables.

[Kristy Johnston · Rating 3 out of 5]

I checked this out on Kindle Unlimited. Some of the salads look interesting but just didn't appeal to me. I'll probably make quite a few of the dressings though. I like to make my own dressing since most of the processed dressings you find in grocery stores contain ingredients I'd rather avoid, and dressing is something that's usually simple and easy to make from scratch.

[Alison · Rating 3 out of 5]

For me, this was one of those cookbooks that had lots of pretty dishes that I could tell I’d never make. Also, she uses a fair number of specialty ingredients, and while I’m not opposed to picking them up, I’ve got several things in my pantry that I’ve only used once, so I’m not really into the idea of sourcing curry leaves or sambal oelek right now.

[(a)lyss(a) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a beautiful book!

There are lots of great pictures of salads and the vegetables that make them. There's a good variety of recipes that incorporate vegetables in ways that are actually appealing. There are pickled vegetables and other approaches to making fresh salads. Some are a bit time intensive, but this is a great book about eating more vegetables.

Overall a great find.

[I want a croissant · Rating 3 out of 5]

a lot of interesting recipes, but not many appealed to me personally. there was also more gluten and dairy than i was expecting (couscous, buttermilk…)

i tagged 3 or 4 recipes i would consider making

lots of specialty ingredients, so not the best for anyone trying to budget or without access to those types of foods

[Debbie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nice photos of the dishes and step-by-step instructions with drawings.

None of the recipes appealed to me.

Many of the recipes had lots of ingredients that I don't typically see in my local grocery stores.

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

Organized by seasons, a variety of recipes using fresh produce--likely available in cities larger than mine. Several encourage pickling, even stems, and using that as a seasoning to the whole salad.
Beautiful photography.

[Brianna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Love the title, love the idea/spirit, the recipes were not things I would probably make. Maybe I'm not ready for this book but the recipes seemed to include a lot of ingredients. I would love a simplified version of with this concept.

[Amy Barber · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice but recipes weren't to my liking

It was different, had some good variations, food information and techniques but there wasn't a single thing in there that I actually wanted to make, I'm super picky. Pictures see included with recipes. It even has menu suggestions for some.

[Gr(Ace) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautiful pictures and some interesting ideas, but most of the recipes require more expensive, harder to find ingredients. More niche stuff. Not a go-to cookbook for me. Worth flipping through though.

[Jaclyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty much every recipe requires either tools or ingredients that aren't part of my core kitchen supplies. Lots of really interesting ideas and suggestions for new ways to think about salad, but hard to execute as written without hunting down the unique ingredients.

[Victoria Peipert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stunning images, mouthwatering recipes, wonderful breadth of recipe options that highlight a variety of different vegetables. This will definitely be added to my collection of cookbooks!