Too Many Cooks: Your Perfect Salad

You'll be hearing from the staff at FOOD52 in Too Many Cooks, our group column in which we pool our answers to questions about food, cooking, life, and more.

Salads are so much more than piles of lettuce. They can be light and delicate, cheesy and crunchy, or more potato than anything else. They can be sweet or savory, heavy or light, hot or cold. 

While salads are a great way to showcase the freshest seasonal produce -- or to use up the random leftovers in your fridge -- all of the possibilities can sometimes be overwhelming.

To find out why some salads rise above the rest, we asked the Food52 staff:

What is your ideal salad?

Do you prefer a grain salad, corn salad, or a salad packed with herbs and tomatoes? Tell us in the comments below!

Christina: My mother's tabbouleh -- her version has the perfect parsley to bulgur ratio, just enough lemon to keep the salad dressed but not soggy, and crisp summer cucumbers to add a nice bite.

More: Kale tabbouleh is a greener twist on the original grain salad.  

Bryce: I love a salad of baby spinach, chickpeas, grilled chicken, avocado, artichoke hearts, oil, and salt.

Lauren K.: I could name about 500 salads I love, but the one I miss the most is a radicchio salad with a pear-brown butter vinaigrette, candied pecans, and brie. It was from Lovely Hula Hands, a restaurant in Portland that closed many years ago.

More: Try a simple yet ingenious Radicchio Salad with Manchego Vinaigrette.

Gabriella P.: The Spicy Sabzi at Sweetgreen is the perfect salad, but if I'm going to make my own salad, I'll usually go for an old-fashioned fridge clean-out salad. I like the suspense of it all.

Catherine O’Donnell: My favorite salad is as simple as it gets: tomato, avocado, cilantro, lime, and done. It's just so good.

More: Add some corn to your tomato and avocado salad.

Nancy: Just a simple salad of endives, avocados, and mangoes with yuzu dressing. If you haven’t tried yuzu, you must -- it’s delicious!

Lauren L.: My favorite salad is a mix of baby lettuce, radishes, carrots, peas, dill, blue cheese, and buttermilk dressing, which is actually the Farmhouse Salad from here.

Hillary: Peach tomato caprese is the best, but only with really good fruit and buffalo mozzarella.

Merrill: My favorite is a tomato salad with New Jersey beefsteaks, lots of olive oil and salt, a splash of red wine vinegar, and some freshly torn basil. It's imperative that the tomatoes hang out in the dressing for at least an hour before serving (and that the basil be added at the last minute).

Posie: Everyone should drop everything and go get the scrambled egg, pancetta, and radicchio salad at Salumeria Rosi on the Upper West Side. It's the perfect mix of salty and sweet, of warm and cold. I am in love.

Erin: Does it count if it's bread-based? Panzanella is definitely my favorite, with tons of tomatoes, lots of cucumbers in huge chunks, and entirely too much vinegar!

Stephanie: Oh, I'm so behind panzanella. Erin, we can be on a team.

More: Learn how to make panzanella, no recipe required.

More: Bring your Caesar into the summer by grilling it.

A heated debate over Caesar and Greek Salad erupted. Here was the final breakdown:

• Team Caesar: Catherine, Amanda, Kenzi, Karl, Allison, Laura, Kristin, Jason, and Ryan M.
• Team Greek: Talia, Jackie, Alp, and Lindsay-Jean

We tallied up 9 Caesar Salad lovers and 4 Greek Salad fans from the Food52 team. Which side are you on? Tell us in the comments!