This is the perfect season to experiment with salads that don’t involve the leafy stuff.

There’ll be no slaw or three-bean concoctions here, mainly because they can be bought at any deli or grocery store for pretty cheap. Potato salad is out too, since everyone already has their favorite recipes for that. What’s left?

How about this unusual duo: avocados and grapefruit? With the right dressing, the combination explodes with flavor. Citrus and salt bring out layers of taste that are a complete surprise.

This recipe comes from the Barefoot Contessa’s Barefoot in Paris cookbook (what avocado and grapefruit are doing in Paris I can only guess). The Contessa’s recipe serves four.

Avocado and Grapefruit Salad

Make the vinaigrette dressing first. Mix:

• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1-1/2  teaspoons Kosher salt (per the Contessa)
• ¾ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

Using a whisk, add ½ cup extra virgin olive oil a little bit at a time. Oil and vinegar don’t want to mix, so you’ll have to whisk it well. If it sits very long, it’ll start to separate and you’ll have to whisk it again.

Take 3 avocados, cut them in quarters and remove the pits and the peels. Dip each avocado piece in the whisked dressing—that keeps the avocado from turning brown.

Peel 3 ruby or pink grapefruits (there are tools for this, but a small knife will work). Pull the sections apart. Arrange the sections on four small salad plates. Cut the avocado into smaller strips and arrange them over the grapefruit. Spoon the vinaigrette over all of this and sprinkle with a little salt and pepper.

Beet, Pear, and Whatever Salad

The combination of beets and pears is popular in several variations. Almost any type of pear is fine, but if the fruit should be firm, not soft. The dressing comes from chef Diane Scalia.

Although you can use canned beets, fresh are always better.  

To cook fresh beets, preheat the oven to 375 degrees and cut off both ends of 3 beets. Wash them, wrap them in foil like a baked potato, put them in a baking dish or pan and put that in the oven for about one hour. Let them cool completely, then remove the peel with a knife or peeler.

Later in the day when the beets have cooled, make the dressing.

Mix:

• ¼ cup Orange Muscat Champagne Vinegar (from Trader Joe’s)
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• A dash each of sugar and salt
• 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil (whisk the dressing together, and whisk it again before pouring over salad—oil and vinegar will separate if the dressing is left sitting too long).

Directions:

Now cut up the beets in to 1/2 inch chunks.

Peel and core 3 pears and cut them into ½ inch chunks.

Finally, add one of the following (and only one):

• Cut 2 avocados in half, take out the pits, and cut the avocados into ½ inch chunks. You can cut avocados while still in the skin, then scoop out the chunks or bend back the skin to knock the cubes out.
• Or, add ½ cup toasted or candied walnuts, and cheese. The cheese can be either 4 oz. crumbled gorgonzola or 3-4 oz. goat cheese, cut up or sliced.

Drizzle with the dressing and toss. Done!

Cauliflower with Capers

One more salad for the cauliflower lovers among us. Cauliflowers have a strong taste, and soups made with the vegetable are delicious. This salad pairs salty cauliflower with a sharp, strong red onion. The dressing brings a little sweetness to the mix.

Heat up water in a 2-quart saucepan. As it’s heating, add a lot of salt. Cut up a head of cauliflower florets and toss in while the water is boiling. Let it cook for 8-10 minutes.

Meanwhile, cut a small red onion into thin slices and put into a bowl. When the cauliflower is done, drain off the water and add the cauliflower to the onion.

For the dressing, mix:

• 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons chopped up capers
• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
• Pinch of salt, pinch of pepper
• ½ cup extra virgin olive oil

Directions:

Whisk it all together well, then pour over the cauliflower and toss.

Enjoy while cauliflower is still warm.