Culinary legend Patricia Wells is back with the definitive guide to creating delicious and hearty salads for any occasion—including more than 150 recipes and gorgeous color photographs.

It's a simple yet compelling concept: enjoying a light and delicious main-course salad as a healthy, fresh alternative to more conventional and traditional fare. You can experience a whole world in a salad—with tender greens, savory meat, seafood, and vegetable accompaniments, and versatile dressings—and salad-friendly sides such as homemade bread and home-cured olives. In Salad As A Meal, Patricia Wells gives readers hundreds of delectable ideas, with concepts inspired by her ProvenÇal garden and the interests of students in her high-demand cooking classes. Patricia knows how we want to eat today—and shows us with these exceptional recipes, including:

• Spring Salad: Asparagus, Peas, Beans, and Fennel
• Summer Salad: Green Beans, Toasted Nuts, and Cured Olives
• Provence on a Plate: Eggplant, Tomatoes, Goat Cheese, and Tapenade
• Zucchini Blossom Frittata with Goat Cheese and Mint
• Quinoa Salad with Spinach, Parsley, and Spring Onions
• Chicken and Soba Noodles with Ginger-Peanut Sauce
• Lobster Salad with Green Beans, Apple, and Avocado

Patricia also offers recipes for soup sides, from Cilantro-Flecked Heirloom Tomato Soup to Watercress Soup with Warm Oysters, as well as breads of all kinds, including Crispy Flatbread, Tortilla Chips, Ham and Cheese Bread, and Multigrain Sourdough Bread. Plus, a list of Patricia's favorite pantry items and an entire chapter devoted to dressings and sauces will inspire readers to come up with their own unique salad creations with ingredients in season and on hand.