The Seasoning of Salads

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Small whisk or dinner fork
• •Small saucepan for the eggs
• •20 cm or 8-inch skillet
• •Heatproof salad bowl
• •Clean kitchen towel

Instructions

1. 1

   Prepare the salad

   Choose the seasoning before you prepare the salad. Assaisonnement à l’huile suits nearly any leaf; assaisonnement à la crème belongs with tender early lettuce and cos; assaisonnement au lard welcomes dandelion, red cabbage, and corn salad, or mâche; assaisonnement moutarde à la crème is for beetroot, celeriac, or a green salad in which beetroot plays a large part. Wash the salad, dry it thoroughly, and leave it cool until the last possible moment.

2. 2

   Cisel onion sparingly

   If the salad truly wants raw onion, Cisel it, cutting crosswise into extremely fine pieces rather than leaving coarse dice. Rinse the ciseled onion in fresh cold water, gather it in the corner of a clean towel, and press it completely dry. Use no more than the measured tablespoon for four servings. Raw onion should sharpen a salad quietly, not announce itself before the bowl reaches the table.

3. 3

   Whisk the oil seasoning

   For Assaisonnement à l’huile (oil and vinegar seasoning), dissolve the salt in the vinegar, add the pepper, then whisk in the oil. The proportion is three parts oil to one part vinegar, and that ratio stays. Whisk until lightly emulsified and toss with the salad immediately. If the dressing separates while it waits, don’t pour it out. Ça se rattrape: whisk it again just before it meets the leaves.

4. 4

   Make the cream seasoning

   For Assaisonnement à la crème (cream seasoning), reserve 1 teaspoon of the measured cream. Dissolve the salt in the vinegar, add the pepper, then whisk in the remaining cream gradually. The dressing should be fluid, lightly thickened by the acid, and able to veil a tender leaf without weighing it down. If it freckles or begins to separate, place the reserved fresh cream in a clean bowl and whisk the troubled dressing into it a spoonful at a time. Ça se rattrape. If it remains smooth, whisk in the reserved cream at the end.

5. 5

   Build the egg seasoning

   For Assaisonnement à l’œuf (egg seasoning), cover the eggs with cold water, bring to a boil, then cover the pan, remove it from the heat, and leave for 10 minutes. Cool under cold water and shell them. Separate the yolks, crush them to a fine paste in the salad bowl, and cut the whites into thin strips. Work 2 teaspoons of the vinegar, the salt, and the pepper into the yolks, then add the oil gradually, mixing with a fork until creamy. If oil begins to pool, stop and work in the reserved teaspoon of vinegar before continuing. Fold the egg-white strips through the salad after dressing.

6. 6

   Whisk mustard and cream

   For Assaisonnement moutarde à la crème (mustard and cream seasoning), reserve 1 teaspoon of the measured cream. Whisk the Dijon mustard with the lemon juice, salt, and pepper until perfectly smooth, then add the remaining cream in a thin stream. It should become ivory-pale and pourable, not stiff. If the acid makes it grainy, put the reserved cream in a clean bowl and whisk the dressing into it gradually. If it is smooth, add the reserve normally at the finish.

7. 7

   Render the bacon seasoning

   For Assaisonnement au lard (hot bacon seasoning), warm a heatproof salad bowl with hot water, empty it, and dry it thoroughly. Put the prepared dandelion, red cabbage, or mâche into the warm bowl and season with the salt and pepper. Render the bacon dice in a small skillet over medium heat until their edges are crisp and the fat runs clear, but stop before either fat or bacon darkens bitterly. Remove the skillet from the heat, add the vinegar carefully, and scrape the pan so the vinegar gathers every savoury trace. Pour the hot fat, vinegar, and bacon dice over the salad at once and toss. If the fat clouds before you pour, return the skillet to low heat only until it flows again. Ça se rattrape.

8. 8

   Dress and serve

   For the four cold seasonings, spoon the chosen dressing around the sides of the salad bowl rather than flooding the centre, then lift and turn the leaves until each carries a light gloss. Taste one leaf, not the dressing alone, because the salad is the final measure of salt and acid. Add the ciseled onion only if using, and serve immediately. The hot bacon salad should already be moving toward the table. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Match the seasoning to the salad. Oil and vinegar may dress nearly anything; thin cream is for tender early lettuce and cos; hot bacon fat is for dandelion, red cabbage, and mâche; mustard with cream belongs with beetroot and celeriac. The leaf decides.
• •Fresh, fluid cream matters. If yours pours in heavy folds, it is too thick for these formulas. Mix equal parts heavy cream and whole milk, then measure the amount the recipe requires; this restores the flow the original preparation assumed.
• •Choose bacon with enough white fat to render. Very lean slices may crisp, but they cannot replace the oil as the formula requires, and adding unrelated oil afterward misses the character of the seasoning.
• •The source permits a light mayonnaise in place of the crushed-yolk seasoning, but only in a small quantity. Add it a spoonful at a time, stopping as soon as the leaves are coated. A salad should remain a salad, especially at the end of dinner.

Advance Preparation

• •Assaisonnement à l’huile may be mixed up to 3 days ahead and kept covered in the refrigerator. Let it lose its chill and whisk again before using.
• •The cream and mustard-cream seasonings may be prepared up to 4 hours ahead and kept cold. Stir gently before dressing the salad.
• •The eggs may be hard-boiled a day ahead, but crush the yolks and cut the whites on the day of serving. Keep both covered and cold.
• •The bacon may be diced earlier in the day, but render it and deglaze the skillet only when the salad is ready. Hot fat meeting dry leaves is the technique, not decorative theater.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 23g)