Twelve Months of Monastery Salads

March 1, 2004
A Benedictine monk and nine-time author follows up his Twelve Months of Monastery Soups
with a similar ode, this time to the healthful, palate-pleasing salad. D'Avila-Latourrette, resident monk at Our Lady of the Resurrection Monastery, near Millbrook, N.Y., has collected hundreds of eclectic salad recipes from around the world. Arranged by the month, each of these mostly vegetarian salads (some contain egg, cheese or fish) call for the fruits, grains and vegetables appropriate to the season. Salads range from classics such as Caesar Salad and German Potato Salad to rustic Dutch-Style Egg and Cheese Salad, on to more exotic fare, such as Capered Deviled Eggs with Beets and Remoulade Sauce. The recipes are user-friendly and contain helpful suggestions on how and when to serve each dish, as 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. A section on "Salad Basics" and another on "Salad Oils, Vinegars, and Dressings" frame the recipes at the beginning and end of the book, respectively. (Apr.)

Forecast:
National radio and print campaigns will put d'Avila-Latourrette's book in the spotlight. The book jacket, featuring the author dressed in his monk's robes standing among bowls of fresh produce, certainly stands out from the rest of the offerings on the cookbook shelf.