dear cooks,

No meal is more fitting for a hot summer day than a light, fresh salad. Unsurpassed as a means of presenting exhilarating and inspiring combinations of fresh flavors and contrasting textures, salads are at long last taking center stage. In today's spirit of healthy eating, the main-course salad is a dish that can satisfy even the heartiest of eaters.

In Salads, celebrated fusion chef Peter Gordon explores unusual combinations of flavors and textures to create an eclectic collection of salads that defy our usual expectation of mixed greens. Between chapters on Canapé Salads and Dessert Salads are six sections brimming with innovative approaches to the main-course salad based on Vegetables, Cheese, Meat, Poultry, Fish, and more. A cornucopia of recipes for everything from formal parties to everyday suppers provides endless options, such as Warm Seven Mushroom Salad with Hoisin and Ginger Dressing; Crayfish, Avocado, Grapefruit, and Ginger Salad with Wild Rocket and Chive Dressing; and Grilled Banana and Mango Salad with Vanilla-Poached Peach.

In addition to the book's 100 recipes, Gordon's introduction discusses basics, such as the elements that make the ideal salad, the principles of salad construction, ways of adding "crunch" to salads, and how to make garnishes and basic dressings. With so many options for re-creating this classic dish, Salads brings new life to this unexpected entrée.

Tuna, Quinoa, Wild Arugula, Olive, and Blackened Tomato Salad with Chopped Egg and Parsley Dressing

ingredients

6 tomatoes
4 to 5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
small handful of basil leaves, torn
¾ cup quinoa grains
4 tuna steaks, each about 6 ounces, skin and bones removed
salt and freshly ground black peppers
2 large handfuls of assorted olives
2 large handfuls of wild arugula leaves

For the chopped egg and parsley dressing:

4 eggs
small handful of parsley leaves, roughly chopped
2 tablespoons capers
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 tablespoons lemon juice

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to prepare

This salad takes as its spiritual grandmother salade niçoise, using those lovely, small black niçoise olives. Quinoa is an ancient Inca grain, full of all the world's goodness. Almost forgotten until recently, it has begun to appear again in whole food stores and on restaurant menus.

Cut the tomatoes across into slices about ½ inch thick and brush each with a little of the oil. Heat a heavy pan and, when it's smoking, add the tomatoes in a single layer and cook over a high heat to blacken a little, 1½ to 2 minutes. Using a heat-proof spatula, remove the slices to a plate and continue to cook the remaining slices. If any bits stick to the pan, scrape them off and wipe the pan. Once all the tomatoes are cooked, scatter the basil over them and drizzle with a teaspoon of oil.

Bring 1 quart of water to a boil in a pan. Place the quinoa in a very fine strainer and give it a rinse under warm running water for 30 seconds. Add the quinoa to the boiling water and cook at a rapid boil for 12 to 15 minutes. It will be cooked when it begins to unwrap—rather like a spiral unfolding. Taste a few of the grains after 10 minutes and, once cooked, drain through a fine strainer, then spread out on a plate to cool down. The quinoa will remain slightly crunchy and nutty, and it's this texture that makes it so fabulous.

Brush the tuna with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil, lightly season it, and leave it out at room temperature for 10 minutes, covered with plastic wrap.

Make the chopped egg and parsley dressing. Place the eggs in a pan of boiling water and boil for 5 minutes, then drain and place in a bowl of iced water to cool them completely. Shell the eggs, then roughly chop or grate them and place in a bowl with the parsley, capers, and the olive oil.

Heat the pan or broiler again and, when hot, place the tuna in, or under, it and cook briefly. Tuna is best served rare to medium-rare—any more and it can become dry. However, if you like your fish overcooked and awful, then, by all means, cook it so. Just don't say I told you to. For a steak that's ¾ inch thick, to cook it medium-rare in a hot pan will take about 2 minutes on the first side, then flip it over and cook for a minute longer.

To serve

Place the olives, arugula, and quinoa in a large bowl, lightly season, add the remaining olive oil, and gently mix. Lay the tomato slices on 4 plates and divide the arugula salad on top of them, then top with a piece of tuna. Mix the lemon juice into the egg dressing and spoon this over as you serve the salad.

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