Easy-Peasy 2-Ingredient Summer Salads Slideshow

Forget tomatoes and corn. "I think this is an amazing combination because the peaches are so sweet and the tomatoes have that sourness to them," Yonan said. "With a little salt and pepper, you have a really nice combo. Those can carry you." Toss with some olive oil if it's your thing, some feta for the cheese lovers, and call it a day. Or, blend the two fruits together into a cold soup, "which is basically a smoothie that you eat out of a bowl," Yonan said.

You don't have to actually cook beets to eat them, although roasted beets are a favorite of the staff (especially at ABC Kitchen). Yonan, however, also favors the gritty, bright texture of shredded carrots and beets. "I do a carrot soup with quick pickle beets in the book, but I love to make a Moroccan-style salad where you grate the carrots and the beets on the fine side of the box grater, raw," Yonan said. "Then you just toss them with a little orange juice, a little olive oil, and a good Middle Eastern spice blend or cumin." (See the Orange Za'atar Dressing recipe on the next slide). The result? An earthy salad with a touch of brightness from the citrus and a deep red hue thanks to beets' tendency to stain everything.

Makes about 1 1/4 cups

1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon tahini
1 teaspoon za'atar (a spice blend with sumac, thyme, sesame)
1/2 teaspoon sea salt

Combine all the ingredients in a small glass jar, screw on the lid, and shake to combine. Store in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

Sometimes, we need some carbs in our lives. Enter barley, something just a touch heftier for a summer salad. "Barley is one of those things I love to have around already cooked," Yonan said. "I make a big pot of it on the weekends and I might freeze it in individual little Ziploc bags, and then I like to use it as a base."

Add to that base a hefty amount of thinly sliced sugar snap peas, a dash of sesame dressing, and if you really want, other vegetables to bulk it up (peas, beans, etc.). But the sugar snap peas and barley combination is the key; "[barley] gives this sort of backbone of carbs to the crunch of sugar snaps," Yonan said.

This simple and versatile recipe can top off most two-ingredient salads, but Yonan suggests the tomato peach to match the acidity of the dressing.

makes about 1 cup
1   clove garlic
1/2   teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
1/3   cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (from 2 to 3 large lemons)
1/4   cup Chile Oil, homemade or store-bought
1/4   cup extra-virgin olive oil
2   teaspoons Dijon mustard
2   teaspoons honey
Freshly ground black pepper

Smash the garlic with the side of a chef's knife, sprinkle with the salt, and finely chop the two together. Smear it with the side of the knife to create a paste, and transfer it to a small glass jar.

Add the lemon juice, chile oil, olive oil, mustard, honey, and several grinds of black pepper. Screw on the jar's lid and shake to combine. Taste and add more salt as needed. Refrigerate for up to 2 weeks.