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Ensalada de San Isidro Madrileña
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Ensalada de San Isidro is Madrid's fair-day salad: crisp romaine, tuna, hard egg, olives, and a sharp aliño that uses the yolk to coat every leaf.
Salads
Spanish
Celebration
Picnic
Outdoor Dining
15 min
Active Time
10 min cook•25 min total
Yield4 servings
Ensalada de San Isidro is Madrileña, made for the May fair of Madrid's patron saint: lettuce, tuna, hard-boiled egg, olives, and a plain oil-and-vinegar aliño. It isn't a grand dish. That's its sense. It travels well to the pradera, sits happily beside bread and tortilla, and gives a cool bite between richer festival food.
The method that decides it is the dressing. Mash one cooked yolk into the vinegar, salt, and olive oil until it turns creamy, then dress the lettuce just before serving. The yolk helps the aliño cling to the romaine instead of running to the bottom of the bowl, and that is the difference between a salad and wet leaves.
If you are far from Madrid, use good romaine or little gem, canned tuna in olive oil, and firm green olives. Campo Real olives are right if you can find them; manzanilla olives do the job if you can't. What changes is the sharp, herbal bite, not the bones of the dish. Siempre sale, si lo sigues.
Ensalada de San Isidro belongs to Madrid's romería for San Isidro Labrador, when families carried simple food to the pradera and ate outdoors near the saint's meadow. The salad reflects the city table more than the field: lettuce from nearby market gardens, preserved tuna from the pantry, hard egg, and olives dressed with the everyday aliño of oil, vinegar, and salt. Its purpose is practical and festive at once, a fresh dish that could be packed, shared, and eaten cold among heavier fair foods.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
eggs
Quantity
2 large
romaine lettuce hearts
Quantity
300g
washed, dried, and torn
canned tuna in olive oil
Quantity
160g
drained lightly
green olives, preferably Campo Real or manzanilla
Quantity
80g
spring onion or mild white onion
Quantity
60g
very thinly sliced
ripe tomato
Quantity
1, about 180g
cut into wedges
extra virgin olive oil
Quantity
45ml
white wine vinegar or vinagre de Jerez
Quantity
15ml
fine sea salt
Quantity
3g, plus more to taste
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| eggs | 2 large |
| romaine lettuce heartswashed, dried, and torn | 300g |
| canned tuna in olive oildrained lightly | 160g |
| green olives, preferably Campo Real or manzanilla | 80g |
| spring onion or mild white onionvery thinly sliced | 60g |
| ripe tomatocut into wedges | 1, about 180g |
| extra virgin olive oil | 45ml |
| white wine vinegar or vinagre de Jerez | 15ml |
| fine sea salt | 3g, plus more to taste |
Equipment Needed
- •Small saucepan
- •Wide salad bowl
- •Small bowl and fork for the aliño
- •Salad spinner or clean towel
Instructions
- 1
Boil the eggs
Put the eggs in a small pan, cover with cold water, and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and cook for 10 minutes, then cool them under cold water. Peel them, separate one yolk for the aliño, and cut the remaining egg and white into wedges.
- 2
Prepare the lettuce
Wash the romaine and dry it very well. This matters more than people think: oil and vinegar cling to dry leaves and slide off wet ones. Tear it into bite-sized pieces and set it in a wide salad bowl.
- 3
Make the aliño
Mash the reserved cooked yolk with the salt and vinegar until smooth, then beat in the olive oil a little at a time. The dressing should look cloudy and lightly creamy. This is the small Madrid trick here, and it coats the lettuce properly.
- 4
Build the salad
Add the onion, tomato, olives, and tuna to the lettuce, keeping the tuna in generous flakes instead of crushing it to paste. Pour over the aliño and toss gently with your hands or two spoons, just enough to gloss every leaf.
- 5
Finish and serve
Arrange the egg wedges on top and taste a leaf for salt and vinegar. Serve at once, cool but not fridge-cold. If it has to travel, carry the aliño in a jar and dress it at the table, tal como se hace for a picnic that still wants to eat well.
Chef Tips
- •Use tuna packed in olive oil, not dry tuna in water. Drain it lightly, but leave a little oil clinging to the fish; it belongs in the dressing.
- •Campo Real olives give the salad a proper Madrid bite. If you can't find them, use firm manzanilla olives. Avoid sweet black canned olives here; they make the salad dull.
- •Dress the salad at the last moment. Romaine forgives more than tender lettuce, but vinegar still wilts it if it sits too long.
- •A tomato belongs only if it tastes of tomato. If the market has pale winter ones, leave it out and add a little more onion and olive. Pésalo, no lo adivines, but don't let a bad tomato boss the bowl.
Advance Preparation
- •Boil the eggs up to 2 days ahead and keep them unpeeled in the refrigerator.
- •Wash and dry the romaine up to 1 day ahead, then wrap it in a clean towel and refrigerate.
- •Make the yolk aliño up to 4 hours ahead and keep it in a jar; shake well before dressing the salad.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 235g)
Calories
260 calories
Total Fat
19 g
Saturated Fat
3 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
16 g
Cholesterol
100 mg
Sodium
790 mg
Total Carbohydrates
7 g
Dietary Fiber
3 g
Sugars
3 g
Protein
17 g
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