Chef Ilene Rosen’s supreme take on greens, grains and herbs.

Inventive and surprising, chef Ilene Rosen shares her supreme take on greens, grains and herbs Laura Brehaut

For chef Ilene Rosen, exploring the boundaries of what constitutes a salad has been a career-long pursuit. “I’ve yet to find a limit to it,” she says. “There’s just always something you can do, something you can grab, something that makes it different.”

Compelled by the heaps of colourful produce available year-round at her local greenmarket, Rosen changed careers in her thirties — moving from interior design to the culinary arts.

Now, nearly two decades later, unusual and enticing sort-of-salads have become her calling card.

In her new cookbook, Saladish: A Crunchier, Grainier, Herbier, Heartier, Tastier Way with Vegetables, the Brooklyn-based co-owner of R&D Foods shares her creative approach with 100 recipes, organized seasonally.

Rosen’s “Saladish Manifesto” underscores the importance of starting with the highestquality ingredients you can get your hands on, taking the time to adjust seasoning as you go along, and playing with contrast in both texture and flavour.

“That’s really where the interest-slash-deliciousness will lie,” Rosen says. “You want there to be contrast. You want everything to be in balance. You may want to feature one particular flavour over another, but having something that counters it is crucial.” Excerpted from Saladish by Ilene Rosen (Artisan Books). Copyright © 2018. Photographs by Joseph De Leo. Used with permission from the publisher.

JOSEPH DE LEO