Dairy Free

For a complete meal, serve this salad with pita bread, feta cheese, and hummus. If you are on a low-sodium diet, substitute a less salty cheese for the feta.

We recommend serving this juicy salad as a first course, either alone or accompanied by mixed greens. We used beefsteak tomatoes, but any fresh, ripe tomatoes would be equally delicious.

To pit the olives, place them on a cutting board, and press firmly with your thumb. The olives will split, and the pits can be easily removed.

Soaking the anchovies in red-wine vinegar gives them a wonderful pickled flavor.

You can intensify the garlic flavor by rubbing an additional clove on one side of the toasted bread before tearing it into chunks.

Chioggia beets are pink on the outside and striped on the inside. Because they are not cooked in this recipe, choose tender baby beets. You can use red or golden beets if Chioggia beets are unavailable. After your grill becomes hot, grill the lemon halves, cut side down, until lightly charred. Remove, let cool slightly, and squeeze their warm juice over the vegetables.

To keep watercress fresh, wrap it in damp paper towels and place it in a resealable plastic bag. Stored this way, it can be refrigerated for up to 4 days. Just before making the salad, “crisp” the watercress by soaking it in a bowl of ice water for a few minutes, then gently pat dry.