One of the most creative, visually stunning, and exciting cookbooks I have purchased recently is Julia Sherman’s Salad for President: A Cookbook Inspired by Artists.  Beautifully written and photographed salad recipes of all sorts….salads for special occasions, everyday salads, simple salads, you-name-it.  Inspired by artists that the author knows along with modern, international-oriented ingredients, I just can’t wait to make every salad in the darn book!  Whimsical hand-drawn pictures fill the pages of the book as well which add yet another level of beauty to the publication itself.

On of the first recipes I made from the cookbook was perhaps one of the simplest.  A mixed green salad tossed with a light lemon and Dijon mustard vinaigrette, served with a sprinkling of fragrant za’atar right on top of the dressed salad. The za’atar mixture adds a bit of crunch thanks to its sesame seed component, but also that sumac-scented blend of flavor that is both distinct and smile-inducing.

Tagged: Dijon mustard, green salad, Julia Sherman, lemon, lemon vinaigrette, Salad, Salad for President, Salad for President: A Cookbooks Inspired by Arists, simple salad, spring greens, za'atar