French Salad

Saturday evening I topped off summer by serving French salad to several of my closest friends. The tradition started when a friend, who has family living in Provence, France, shared with us this delicious salad. We could not let summer pass without enjoying this perennial favorite at least once. The dish is very similar to Salade Nicoise (or Nicoise salad) but not quite the same.  I'm saying not quite the same because I have found that the French can be very particular about what you do with their classic cuisine.  

What’s authentic and what’s not is very controversial when preparing this Nicois classic.  Should one use fresh or canned tuna?  Are both green beans and boiled potatoes to be included?  Is lettuce or other greens included or should they be left out?  Should it be mixed or composed?

The salad got it's start in the city of Nice located in Southern France, near the Italian border.  Nice has a distinct cultural and historic heritage that can be traced back to the Middle Ages and includes Greek, Italian and French influences.  Here authenticity is sacred, the preparation of their distinct traditional cuisine is staunchly guarded -  ingredient by ingredient.  

Although all sorts of variations on Salade Nicoise are served all over France, each claiming to be "authentic", the purists in this region would insist on a composition of a Niçoise salad as follows: tomatoes, hard-boiled eggs, salted anchovies, tuna, spring onions, small black Nice olives and basil. And if in season, you can add young, tender broad beans out of the pod, young, raw artichokes and thin green peppers. 

Our salad includes all of the above plus thinly sliced roasted beets, roasted peppers, green beans, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, and garlic - so we just call it French salad.  

Aside from the ingredients, my friend also brought back from his French relatives the tradition of serving the meal as a communal partaking, gathering together around the table, passing the individual ingredients starting with garlic clove, and ending with grilled tuna.

You take what you want, composing  your own salad and then you just kind of mash it up, tear it up, cut it up and eat it.  It's fun, delicious and healthy. 

Included in the meal -  what else but some crusty bread and a chilled Rose.  

Then to complete the evening and the summer properly - blackberry pie.

Bon Appetit!

Evelyn



REMEMBER:  Buy Local When You Can!

It's Time for Rosé!

Finally - time to sit back and relax.  It’s sumptuous summertime and it’s time for rosé!  There are as many Oregon rosés on the market as there are wineries in the WV.  But I haven’t found one I didn’t like yet.  Rosé has become the unofficial summer sipper in Oregon wine country and after a weekend like the one we just experienced (very, very, very warm),  I ran to the market and stocked up for the rest of the summer. These wines are produced to drink now and sell out fast.  So it's time to sit back and enjoy this delightful, refreshing wine with the bright, fresh fruit flavors of strawberries, raspberries, or cherries.

This isn’t that other pink wine we have come to disparage for it’s lack of character and excessive sweetness. The Oregon rosé is made in the style of the wines from Southern France, dry, with a light complexity and the perfect balance of acidity which works so well with the light, simple food of summer.

Pink from pinot noir, syrah, grenache, zinfandel, cabernet sauvignon or sangovaise grapes which are soaked in their red skins for a few hours - compared to a few days (or weeks) for red wines. How deeply colored the rosé becomes depends on the grape type and, obviously, how long it sits.





Believe me - this wine is the essence of  summer. Always served chilled, a wine made to be enjoyed with friends and family on the patio, porch, deck, backyard – anywhere out-of-doors - savoring the warmth and glory days of summer.

Now speaking of food, I’m beginning to reap the benefits of all those vegetable plants I so enthusiastically planted and nurtured through late spring and early summer. Since I’m an eating fool, what better way to enjoy the dishes of summer - dishes like panzanelia, salade Nicioise, tabouli, ratatoulli , etc. - than with a perfect glass of yummy chilled rose  (check out the “Must Have Recipes" at the bottom of the post).


One of my favorite little starters, which is great with rosé, is broiled procuitto-wrapped peach slices.  The original recipe from Food & Wine Magazine, uses pancetta which I have changed to procuitto which I prefer.  I also spread a dab of blue cheese onto the sliced peach wedge, then add a bit of basil leave before I wrap it up with a small piece of procuitto.  Broil it for a few minutes, til it’s hot and slightly bubbly, then drizzle with a little balsamic vinegar and serve.  Yum.

If I haven’t convinced you yet, it’s also good to know that rosé wines are relatively inexpensive in the world of classy Oregon wines.  Most run between $10 and $20 dollars averaging about $15 on down.  As a table wine they offer incredible paring possibilities, by themselves, sitting on the deck watching the sun go down, wonderfully drinkable and affordable – a real winner.

Life is good, bye for now.  Evelyn

Must Have Summer Recipes                            

Grilled Steak with Panzanella - Food & Wine Magazine 

Ratatouille - Emeril Lagassee (food network)- 

Salade Nicoise - Epicurious 

Tabouli Salad - About.com 

Summer Salads - Once Upon a Chef
Pancetta-Wrapped Peaches with Basil & Aged Balsamic Vinegar - Food and Wine Magazine

Remember:  buy local when you can!