Salade Italienne

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Sharp chef's knife and small ruler
• •3-quart saucepan
• •Wire skimmer or slotted spoon
• •Rimmed tray lined with a clean kitchen towel
• •Medium mixing bowl and sturdy whisk
• •Low oval serving platter

Instructions

1. 1

   Cut the macédoine

   Choose an 8 mm cube and keep it beside the board as your measure. Trim the carrots, turnips, and potatoes into flat-sided blocks, cut even 8 mm slabs, then batons, then dice. Cut the beans into matching lengths. Seed the tomatoes, dice the firm flesh, and leave it in a sieve to drain for at least 15 minutes. If the first dice wander in size, sort out the larger pieces and recut them now. Ça se rattrape. Don't chase the smallest pieces with the knife or the whole bowl will become mince.

2. 2

   Cook the eggs

   Lower the 2 eggs into a saucepan of gently boiling water and cook for 10 minutes. Transfer them immediately to iced water and let them cool completely, then drain. Empty and rinse the saucepan before cooking the vegetables. The eggs should have firm yolks for clean decoration, not the soft centres wanted at breakfast.

3. 3

   Cook vegetables separately

   Fill the saucepan with about 2 litres of water, add 1 tablespoon of the salt, and bring it to a strong boil. Cook each vegetable separately, lifting it out with a wire skimmer before adding the next: carrots for 4 to 5 minutes, turnips for 3 to 4 minutes, green beans for 2 to 3 minutes, peas for 45 to 60 seconds, and potatoes last for 5 to 7 minutes. Judge each by texture, not only the clock; the pieces should be tender through but still hold sharp edges. Chill the beans and peas briefly in iced water to fix their colour, then drain. Spread every cooked vegetable in a separate band on a towel-lined tray until completely cold and dry. Separate pans were brigade scaffolding. Separate judgment is the dish and cannot be skipped.

   If a batch begins to soften too far, lift it out at once and spread it widely on the cold tray. A heap keeps cooking from its own heat.
4. 4

   Build sauce mayonnaise

   Put 1 pasteurized yolk, 1 teaspoon of the Dijon mustard, the vinegar, the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, and the white pepper in a stable bowl. Whisk until smooth, then add the oil drop by drop until the emulsion catches and thickens. Continue in a thin steady thread, whisking constantly. Finish with the lemon juice and, if needed, enough cold water to make a supple mayonnaise that falls heavily from the whisk. If it splits, stop pouring. In a clean bowl, whisk the optional second yolk with the reserved teaspoon of mustard and 1 teaspoon cold water, then whisk in the broken mayonnaise a teaspoon at a time until smooth. Ça se rattrape.

5. 5

   Bind without drowning

   Put the cold carrots, turnips, potatoes, beans, and peas in a wide bowl. Add the olives, capers, diced anchovy, and chopped herbs, then fold in about 1/2 cup of the sauce mayonnaise with a broad spoon. Add the drained tomato last so its edges remain distinct. Fold gently and add only enough of the remaining mayonnaise to bind every piece with a light ivory coating. Taste before adding salt, because the anchovy, capers, and olives have already brought plenty. If damp vegetables loosen the dressing, lift the solids into a clean bowl with a slotted spoon and rebind them with a spoonful of reserved mayonnaise.

6. 6

   Chill and decorate

   Mound the salad loosely on a low oval platter, keeping the individual dice visible rather than pressing them into a smooth dome. Peel the hard-boiled eggs, cut each into four neat wedges, and arrange them around the salad as the source directs. Cover and chill for at least 1 hour so the seasoning settles. Bring it out 10 minutes before serving, still cool but no longer numb from the refrigerator. For a picnic or potluck, carry it in a well-chilled container and keep it over ice until the table is ready. À table!

Chef Tips

• •A small ruler is useful for the first few cuts. Once your hand understands 8 mm, put it away. Cooking well is not cooking fancy, but even dice cook evenly and let every forkful carry the full salad.
• •Frozen peas are often better than tired fresh ones and need no apology. Outside tomato season, drain good canned whole tomatoes very thoroughly and cut the firm flesh by hand; crushed tomato will turn the mayonnaise pink and loose.
• •Anchovy is seasoning here, not a garnish to be removed. Cut it finely enough to disappear through the mayonnaise, where it supplies depth and salt without making any single bite taste aggressively fishy.
• •For a potluck, use a pasteurized yolk and keep the salad at 4°C or colder during transport. Once it leaves the cooler, return it to ice within 2 hours, sooner in fierce weather.
• •Pour a dry white wine with firm acidity and little or no oak. It should refresh the palate after the mayonnaise and stand quietly beside the anchovy and capers.

Advance Preparation

• •The carrots, turnips, potatoes, beans, peas, and hard-boiled eggs can be cooked a day ahead. Chill them in separate covered containers so each keeps its texture, and prepare the tomato nearer assembly time.
• •The sauce mayonnaise can be made a day ahead with a pasteurized yolk and kept tightly covered in the refrigerator. If it becomes too firm, whisk in cold water a few drops at a time.
• •The finished salad can be assembled and decorated up to 6 hours before serving. Keep it covered and cold, then give the mound a gentle turn with a spoon if a little dressing settles underneath.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 250g)