In the spirit of “put an egg on it,” the here-to-stay trend that turns, say, a plate of vegetables or toast into a more balanced meal, I’d like to propose “put a salad on it.” A pile of greens on top of hot food not only adds colourful freshness to the plate, but it also rounds out the meal the way a side salad would, but with minimal effort and no extra dishes.

I discovered this at home one busy weeknight when I was serving a batch of spaghetti and meatballs to my husband and daughter. I had some arugula on hand that I had intended to put into the sauce on the stove to wilt, but at the last minute, I switched gears and mounded the fresh greens on top of each plate of pasta, drizzled each with olive oil and sprinkled with salt. We all enjoyed what we called the “salad pasta” so much, it became a regular thing. I started piling various salad greens onto other dishes, such as pizzas and bowls of stew.