Twelve Months of Monastery Salads

Book excerpt: From a Benedictine monk and celebrated cookbook author, “hundreds of eclectic salad recipes from around the world” organized by month (Publishers Weekly). In Twelve Months of Monastery Salads, Brother Victor celebrates creative, nourishing salads—a cuisine in harmony with traditional monastic cooking. Monastic cooking centers on simple, fresh, wholesome ingredients, and monks rely a great deal on the seasonal harvest of their gardens. This engaging collection of more than two hundred delicious, satisfying salads is organized according to the bounty of the seasons from the first spring harvest (Salmon and Cucumber Salad) to the heartier fare of the winter months (Venetian Gorgonzola Salad). In each season there are salads that honor saints, such as St. Michael’s Salad, which pairs delicious ripe tomatoes with onions, olives, fresh basil, and mozzarella. There are also salads from places across the globe, including German Potato Salad, South American Bean Salad, and Indian Curried Lentil Salad. As Brother Victor says in the book’s introduction, a salad, carefully prepared, is always an occasion for celebration. “D’Avila-Latourrette tells readers whether a salad is appropriate for a celebration or an outdoor picnic, if it should be served chilled or at room temperature and if it should be eaten before the entrée or as a palate cleanser before dessert. Each page contains an appropriate and entertaining proverb or brief quote about eating, cooking or the spiritual life.” —Publishers Weekly