Place beets in a saucepan with just enough water to cover; bring to a boil and simmer until fork-tender, about 20-30 minutes. Drain. Cool and grate into a serving bowl. Add walnuts, prunes and garlic. Mix lightly with mayonnaise, starting with a couple of tablespoons and adding more to taste. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Makes 6 servings.

The longtime master of heart-healthy cooking, Joe Piscatella, recommends this surprisingly indulgent-sounding salad but note that he employs what he calls "balancing skills" — because rich steak and blue cheese are used, the dressing is fat-free. Be sure to crumble or chop the blue cheese into small bits, so that it's distributed through the mixture.

GRILLED STEAK AND ONION SALAD

Slice onion into 1-inch chunks and thread onto water-soaked bamboo skewers. Broil or grill 4 minutes a side.

Grill or broil steak 4-6 minutes a side, or to desired doneness. Slice into thin strips.

Divide romaine among four plates. Top with tomatoes, steak, onions and drizzle with balsamic vinegar and pepper. Scatter blue cheese over salad.

Makes 4 entree salad servings.

In their book, "The Healthy Kitchen," Andrew Weil and Rosie Daley recommend shrimp and green papaya salad for its balance of subdued sweetness and chili-driven kick. The best green papaya are a variety meant to be used green — sold in Chinatown, in Asian groceries and at farmers markets. In Vietnamese groceries, you can sometimes find papaya already grated and ready to use.

THAI SHRIMP AND PAPAYA SALAD

For the salad:

For the green papaya salsa:

Preheat the broiler or grill. In a medium bowl, toss the shrimp with sesame oil and chili paste. Grill the shrimp 1 minute or so, until pink and cooked through. Set aside.

In a large bowl, toss together greens, salt, lemon juice and olive oil.

Make a salsa, plucking the cilantro leaves from their stems and placing them in a small bowl with green papaya. Add bell pepper, onion, jalapeno and lime juice. Toss shrimp in salsa.

Divide greens mixture among six plates and top with 2 shrimp each.

Makes 6 first-course servings.

Lorna Sass ("Complete Vegetarian Kitchen," William Morrow, 1992) takes the familiar and gives it a new treatment in this celery slaw, making use of a widely available vegetable that rarely gets the respect it deserves.

CELERY SLAW

In a bowl, combine celery, carrot, dried fruit. Whisk together mayonnaise, vinegar, mustard. Dress salad; taste and add salt as desired. Chill at least 1 hour before serving.

Makes 4 side salad servings.

In June 2005, the editors of Cook's Illustrated came up with an unusual pairing of apple and parsley when they "threw away the rule book on vinaigrettes." This is particularly nice with spicy greens such as arugula and watercress. Garnish with shaved Parmesan, toasted nuts and thin slices of apple or fennel.

FRESH APPLE AND PARSLEY DRESSING

In a blender, combine all ingredients EXCEPT oil and pulse, scraping down sides and adding water as needed until very finely chopped. With machine running, add oil, scraping down blender jar as needed.

Refrigerate in airtight container up to 1 week.

Makes 1 1/2 cups, a serving is 1 tablespoon. (For two servings, use a quart of greens and 2 tablespoons dressing.)

Reach Wanda A. Adams at wadams@honoluluadvertiser.com.