Side Dish Recipes

Avocado chef salad piled with red leaf lettuce, watercress, mushrooms, hard-boiled eggs, Swiss cheese, julienned ham or turkey, cubed avocado, and a tangy vinaigrette. A protein-packed lunch in five minutes.

Apple and endive are tossed with a light yet tasty cranberry vinaigrette, and topped with fresh cranberries, scallions and toasted walnuts.

Pea purée can serve as a garnish, a side dish, or as a spread on crackers or vegetable sticks. Use it as a bed upon which the main item in your entrée can rest. For example, sauté some scallops and place them on a pool of the pea purée.

Avocado, cornichon, and arugula salad: creamy avocado tossed with peppery arugula, tangy cornichons, and chives in a lemon dressing. A bright, sour-edged green salad that comes together fast.

Cream of carrot soup made the classic way: onions sweated in butter, a quick roux for body, then carrots simmered in stock, blended and strained silky-smooth, and finished with cream. Velvety, elegant, and simple.

Classic Spanish gazpacho with ripe tomatoes, cucumber, green pepper, garlic and white wine vinegar. No-cook chilled summer soup blended in 5 minutes.

Sweet, sour and slightly spicy. Cucumber, sweet bell pepper, carrots, wood ears and smoked tofu are tossed with rice vinegar, maple syrup, sesame oil, soy sauce and Korean chili pepper. A very tasty side dish that goes well with all your favorite Korean dishes or most of the main courses.

Caesar salad is delicious and can successfully be combined with such accompaniments as grilled chicken, steak, and shrimp. Here's the recipe I use.

In China, there are literally thousands of methods to cook potatoes. This sweet and sour potato salad is quick and easy to put together, and it tastes delicious. It can be made one day ahead, served chilled, at room temperature or warm.

Diced cooked beets toss with cardamom and fresh mint, then layer with honey-sweetened Greek yogurt for a vibrant Indian raita that's tangy, earthy, and subtly sweet in every spoonful.

Israeli salad with diced cucumber, tomatoes, radishes, green pepper, carrots, and lettuce in a fresh lemon juice dressing. A crisp, vegetarian chopped salad ready in 10 minutes.

Steamed zucchini and yellow squash rounds with garlic, oregano, and extra-virgin olive oil. A fast, diabetic-friendly side dish with only 29 calories per serving.

Red beans and greens salad tosses kidney beans with chopped escarole, red onion, and chunky salsa. Five minutes, five ingredients, zero cooking.

Quick stir-fried bok choy with garlic, reduced-sodium soy sauce, and sesame oil. A crisp-tender Asian vegetable side dish done in 5 minutes with just six ingredients.

Lima beans in sour cream with basil, savory, and sauteed onion. A creamy, herbed side dish that transforms frozen limas into something special in just 15 minutes.

Salad greens, apple, cheddar, and toasted walnuts are tossed with a tasty honey vinaigrette.