6 lively summer salads

This is a versatile salad, so improvise with different ingredients and cheeses, such as nuts and feta. A mixture of beet colors makes a gorgeous dish, but separate reds until the end to avoid staining the others. Whether large or little, beets taste about the same. Large ones just take longer to cook. View recipe.

This protein-rich dish bursts with flavor, fiber, and complex carbohydrates. Serve it on a bed of fresh lettuce, topped with feta cheese crumbles and olives. View recipe.

Just tossing this salad rewards you with pleasure. A kaleidoscope of flavors, from delicate to assertive and peppery to tangy, makes it a great summer lunch or light dinner. View recipe.

Summer squash come in a tantalizing array of shapes and colors: straightneck, crookneck, or scalloped fruits colored yellow, gold, cream, lime, or a striking dark green. For the sweetest flavor, opt for smaller specimens. View recipe.

Watercress is packed with antioxidants and flavor, making a healthful as well as beautiful emerald-green dressing. Combined with spinach and eggs, this is such a simple, light salad, yet it’s spectacularly delicious. View recipe.

In this updated salad, dried blueberries add nutrients and flavor, and using buttermilk in the dressing keeps fat and calories down. View recipe.

In this updated salad, dried blueberries add nutrients and flavor, and using buttermilk in the dressing keeps fat and calories down. View recipe.