Wow, this question has made me hungry. I'm with AJames, especially regarding the addition of lots of herbs. I'm also dreaming of frisee, endive, grapes, parmesan chards and arbequina olive oil all over the place.
Hi, again. I'd like to ask what you mean by "rich" in the chowder. If you mean heavy cream, you might want to look at rice-based thickeners for chowders and bisques that don't weigh down a menu. You can puree cooked white rice, or incorporate "wild" rice as an ingredient. Either way, olive oil all over the place.
Make it sharp! I'd use arugula, red butter lettuce, chopped tomatoes, pickled golden beets, pecans or walnuts, and cucumber in a red wine vinegar and Dijon mustard dressing, made an hour or two before dinner, to which I've added finely chopped basil and parsley. ;o)
I agree that acid would be nice to counter-balance the richness. I might just do a simple green salad with fresh herbs, cucumbers, radishes....and a lemon/oil vinaigrette. You could even try this "genius" lemon dressing: https://food52.com/recipes/16940-april-bloomfield-s-lemon-caper-dressing
In all honesty, I'd say the best summer salad is whatever great, fresh produce you have access to. In addition to the great ideas previously mentioned...peppery arugula with pickled onions and thinly sliced stone fruits - or a "simple" fresh herb salad, just a medley of herb and greens (heavy on the herbs!). This time of year, I find that simple is best!
last night i made a diced tomato, cucumber and onion salad lightly tossed in a vinagrette with basil added. salt and drain tomatoes first, soak the onions to remove bite and mix with plenty of dressing and black pepper. as stated above, it will cut the richness of the soup.
Heirloom tomato or a nice farmer's market fresh picked tomato salad; chilled, very lightly dressed and with a little Saba drizzled on top; served with a thinly sliced toasted olive bread. The acidic tomatoes work so well with the rich chowder and fresh summer tomatoes are the best.
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