We had been looking for the right salad greens for a few weeks. We couldn't find what we wanted for what seemed a long time. This is the season for winter greens like scarole (escarole) and frisée (curly endive), after all. Then there they were — back again. I got this one at Intermarché, one of our two local supermarkets. We ate less than a third of it.
The scarole was gigantic and very fresh looking. I set it in our salad spinner to show you how big it was. Other salad ingredients were vinaigrette dressing, of course, made with Dijon mustard, white wine vinegar, olive oil, sunflower oil, fresh garlic, dried chives, and salt and pepper. Walt had bought some thinly sliced Italian pancetta (salt-cured pork belly) on Saturday when he went to the outdoor market in Saint-Aignan. He cut it into copeaux (shavings) that we cooked lightly in olive oil.
Bon appétit !
Into the salad went sun-dried tomatoes. Croûtons made with a stale baguette and toasted in the oven. Pecans, which I'm glad to say we now find in local super- and produce markets. Eggs, four of them, cooked sunny-side up. I tossed escarole leaves, tomatoes, and pancetta in vinaigrette in a big bowl. When all that was dressed, I put the croutons and pecans in and tossed it some more — you don't put them in for the first tossing because you don't want them to absorb too much vinaigrette and go soggy. And then you put a big serving of the tossed salad on your plate and place two eggs on top. The runny egg yolk combines with the vinaigrette to make a rich, tasty dressing.
Ken, you never cease to amaze me with your repertoire of recipes and your ability to create such a diverse menu on an almost daily basis. And it is all nutrious and pleasing to the eye which whets ones appetite. As we grow older food often becomes boring and the preparation and actual eating often becomes a chore. You plate up a beautiful selection of food that proves my point that food doesn't have to be gray, colorless, washed out and tasteless. I can tell from the color and texture of your food that the tastes of the individual items compliment each other well and the aroma has to be wonderful and enticing as well. Sir, I applaud you and of course Walt, too. Be careful. Be safe. Be happy! Adieu
ReplyDeleteThanks for the good comment, Woody. My food philosophy is that it is important to plan ahead so that you know what ingredients you are going to use for whatever you decide to make. The more vegetables the better, but some meat is good as a flavor enhancer. We have to eat every day, and why not eat good, tasty meals?
DeleteWhat a great salad. That head of escarole is huge! Ha!
ReplyDeleteWe had some escarole again today, and there's still a lot left.
DeleteYou did a nice job with the eggs- know this was delicious. Glad you can now find pecans!
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting how one egg has a pale yellow yolk and the other a bright orange one. They were from two different batches of eggs that I bought at the supermarket. With the induction stove burners, it is easy to cook eggs this way at low temperature and get a good result.
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