This Salad Is a Lot of Work and Worth It

Plus, a savory galette and an alternative to ice cream

My partner Rick, who’s a baker and owner of this place called Bread and Salt in Jersey City, just finished a book (with me) that’s on track to come out from Knopf in the spring. I’m excited — and have Mark to thank for it — in part because he put Rick on the map back when we lived in Pittsburgh. Fast-forward several years and a pandemic later and Bread and How to Eat It was born. Sure there’s a little baking in it, but if Rick had his way, there wouldn’t be and it would feature entirely recipes on what to do with bread — dishes that have fallen out of fashion and, when you try them, you might wonder why.

There’s a whole section on things to eat with bread and the first recipe in today’s collection is one of them. It’s a bit of work, cooking green beans, making eggs, prepping greens, making chickpeas and potatoes, but it’s worth it. Rick has called it the Led Zeppelin salad — the greatest of all summer salads— that’s the star sometime in August. I recently asked him to make it, but he said the green beans aren’t quite right — “too fibrous.”

With hope, the green beans will be just right by you and you can enjoy this glorious salad. I’d serve it with this galette. Or maybe I’d make the galette with this potato salad that doesn’t use mayo. We’ve also got an old favorite, raspberry fool. If you’re looking for an easy meal for entertaining, you can make all four.

Photo: Johnny Fogg

Insalata Cotto e Crudo, or Led Zeppelin Salad

Makes: About 2 servings
Time: About an hour or so