Chef Juliette
The Seasoning of Salads
Five dressings, one governing lesson: match fat and acid to the salad itself, from tender lettuce under fresh cream to bitter dandelion leaves glossed with hot bacon fat.
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Salade Lorette
Created by Chef Juliette
Based on No. 2012, Salade Lorette, from Le Guide Culinaire (1907) by Auguste Escoffier
Salade Lorette is a study in clean contrasts: tender mâche, earthy beetroot, and crisp celeriac in equal measure, dressed simply and joined only when the bowl is ready for the table.
Salads
French
Weeknight
Quick Meal
Dinner Party
20 min
Active Time
0 min cook•20 min total
Yield4 servings
Salade Lorette (lamb's lettuce with beetroot and celeriac) teaches one clean principle: ingredients that stain must remain separate until the final fold. The bowl should show deep green mâche, ivory celeriac, and garnet beetroot as three distinct voices, not one weary pink mixture. Before you touch a pan, know that you don't need one. This salad is decided by the knife and the final thirty seconds.
The old entry assumed a garde-manger with cooked beetroot, washed mâche, and a practiced hand cutting trays of julienne. The honest home equivalent is plain ready-cooked beetroot, a sharp knife, and 100 grams of each principal ingredient for four people. Cooking and cooling a single beet is brigade scaffolding, so it may go; equal proportions, the julienne cut, and the spare seasoning of oil and vinegar are the dish, so they stay.
The vinaigrette simple, an oil-and-vinegar emulsion, needs no mustard, herbs, or other embroidery. Dress the celeriac and mâche first, then fold in the beetroot only once or twice. That last restraint is the step that matters most.
Salade Lorette belongs to the Parisian classical repertoire of named composed salads, concise formulas intended for the garde-manger rather than a particular regional farmhouse table. Its name points toward the quarter surrounding Notre-Dame-de-Lorette and the Parisian social vocabulary attached to it, although the exact dedication was never securely recorded. The dish traveled easily into bourgeois dining rooms because its identity required no rare ingredient, only a fixed composition of equal parts and disciplined handling.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
mâche, also called corn salad or lamb's lettuce
Quantity
4 loosely packed cups (950 ml / 100 g prepared weight)
roots trimmed, washed and thoroughly dried
plain cooked beetroot
Quantity
¾ cup (180 ml / 100 g prepared weight)
peeled and cut julienne-fashion
celeriac, also called celery root
Quantity
1 cup (240 ml / 100 g prepared weight)
peeled and cut julienne-fashion
neutral oil, such as sunflower or grapeseed oil
Quantity
3 tablespoons (45 ml / 41 g)
wine vinegar
Quantity
1 tablespoon (15 ml / 15 g)
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| mâche, also called corn salad or lamb's lettuceroots trimmed, washed and thoroughly dried | 4 loosely packed cups (950 ml / 100 g prepared weight) |
| plain cooked beetrootpeeled and cut julienne-fashion | ¾ cup (180 ml / 100 g prepared weight) |
| celeriac, also called celery rootpeeled and cut julienne-fashion | 1 cup (240 ml / 100 g prepared weight) |
| neutral oil, such as sunflower or grapeseed oil | 3 tablespoons (45 ml / 41 g) |
| wine vinegar | 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 15 g) |
Equipment Needed
- •Large shallow mixing bowl
- •Salad spinner or clean kitchen towels
- •Sharp chef's knife and two cutting boards
- •Digital kitchen scale
Instructions
- 1
Dry the mâche
Separate the mâche into small clusters, trimming away any root ends or bruised leaves. Wash it in a large bowl of cold water, lifting the leaves out so grit remains on the bottom, then spin or pat them completely dry. Water clinging to the leaves thins the vinegar and prevents the oil from coating them; the mâche must feel cool and dry, not damp.
Mâche bruises under rough hands. Lift and turn it with your fingers rather than squeezing it into a colander. - 2
Build the vinaigrette
Whisk the wine vinegar in a large shallow bowl, then pour in the oil gradually while whisking until the vinaigrette looks lightly clouded and cohesive. With no mustard to hold it, this is deliberately a fleeting emulsion. If it separates while you finish cutting, whisk it again for a few seconds. Nothing has failed.
- 3
Cut the julienne
Cut the celeriac first into julienne-fashion rods, match-shaped pieces about 4 cm long and 2 mm thick. Weigh 100 grams after peeling, add it to the vinaigrette, and turn it gently so the vinegar arrests browning. On a separate board, cut the cooked beetroot to the same dimensions and hold it in its own bowl. Blot any wet cut surfaces with a clean towel, because loose beet juice is what turns the salad muddy.
Use a sharp chef's knife, or a guarded julienne slicer if you own one. Cut the pale celeriac before the beetroot so the knife and board cannot carry red juice into it. - 4
Fold and serve
Add the dry mâche to the dressed celeriac and turn gently until the leaves take a fine sheen. Add the beetroot at the very last moment and fold only once or twice, just enough to distribute it without painting the leaves. If pink streaks begin to spread, stop mixing and arrange the beetroot over the top instead. Ça se rattrape: a marbled salad is still handsome, but another ten turns will make it dull. Serve immediately. À table!
Chef Tips
- •In this classical formula, céleri means celeriac, or celery root, not green celery stalks. Its crisp, faintly nutty flesh gives the beetroot something firm to meet.
- •Weigh the mâche, beetroot, and peeled celeriac after trimming. Their volumes look very different, but the source calls for equal quantities, and equal prepared weights preserve that proportion cleanly.
- •Plain vacuum-packed cooked beetroot is the right weeknight answer. Avoid pickled or sweetened beetroot, which brings seasonings the original never asked for and overwhelms the mâche.
- •Oil and wine vinegar, nothing more. Mustard, herbs, garlic, salt, and pepper all make possible salads, but they make a different salad. Cooking well is not cooking fancy.
- •Serve Salade Lorette beside an omelette, roast chicken, or cold sliced beef. A lightly chilled Beaujolais has enough freshness for the vinegar and enough fruit for the beetroot.
Advance Preparation
- •Wash and dry the mâche up to one day ahead. Keep it chilled in a covered container lined with a dry towel, replacing the towel if it becomes damp.
- •Plain cooked beetroot may be prepared up to three days ahead and kept covered in the refrigerator. Cut and blot it shortly before serving for the cleanest colour.
- •The celeriac may be cut and coated in the measured vinaigrette up to two hours ahead. Keep it chilled, but add the mâche and beetroot only when the salad is going to the table.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 90g)
Calories
125 calories
Total Fat
10 g
Saturated Fat
1 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
9 g
Cholesterol
0 mg
Sodium
45 mg
Total Carbohydrates
6 g
Dietary Fiber
1 g
Sugars
2 g
Protein
1 g
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