Watercress

Store-bought rotisserie chicken brings you one step closer to this nourishing grain bowl dinner.

Soaking the onion slices in ice water rids them of their sulfury smell and firms them up.

Light, creamy, warm, and slightly-sweet egg-based dressing is the perfect companion to zesty watercress. This is adapted from a recipe in "Valentine Dinner for Two" from the February 1977 issue of Glamour magazine, which we updated for our 2016 Epi Valentine's Menu.

The radicchio delivers nice color, but endive or escarole hearts would be smart substitutions flavorwise.

You might think the braised pork belly is too sweet on its own. But paired with the sour kimchi and salty roe, it comes into eye-opening balance.

Creamy herbed avocado and edible flowers elevate a simple salad of mixed greens.

This is one of those ingredient combinations that, like the Little Black Dress, always seems to be in style, and it's no wonder: earthy, sweet beets, sharp and creamy blue cheese, and bitter greens simply go together beautifully. Skillet-Toasted Quinoa provides additional texture and protein. Like Chimichurri, this vinaigrette's flavors grow more robust if allowed to sit at room temperature for at least 1 day.

Feel free to adapt this fruit salad as the seasons change; aim for a mix of juicy fruit (like melon), stone fruit, and berries.

A dressing of only vinegar and chili oil ties this salad together.

A texture riot of a salad; it gets crunch and creaminess from toasted pecans and almond butter(!).

Spring is abundant with greens of all types, both wild and cultivated. You never know what might show up at your market in any given week. It just so happened that I was able to get pepper y watercress, wild stinging nettles, and sour sorrel at the same time. I love the idea of a watercress or nettles soup, but it always leaves me wanting acid, which inevitably turns the vibrant green soup to a drab olive. Naturally sour sorrel solves this by adding brightness without acid to balance the flavor. If you have trouble finding nettles, just use more watercress, or substitute arugula, mizuna, or dandelion.

One of many cool things about (super-nutritious) sprouted lentils: They don't need to be cooked first.

Using these exact vegetables is not the point; choose whatever's in season and can stand up to being charred. The genius coffee dressing brings it all together.

Baking citrus at a high heat caramelizes the sugars and adds depth. It's just the thing to bring intrigue to salads and more.

This vibrant soup is especially delicious alongside baguette toasts topped with melted cheese.