For many chefs, a salad is an afterthought, something you put on the menu to satisfy dieters and vegetarians. I’ve always believed that a salad should be as well-composed, as complex and satisfying, as an entree. This probably shows the influence of California-cuisine doyenne Cindy Pawlcyn, whose kitchens I worked in during the early 1990s.
Cindy believed that her menus should celebrate the unsurpassed salad greens available in the Bay Area and the nearby Central Valley of California. She also believed that a salad should be as a hearty as an entree, and should contained nuts and cheese whenever possible.
This salad, which is a best seller at Duo, shows Cindy’s influence. It is a time-consuming, rich and complex dish, balancing sweet butter lettuce, peppery watercress, tangy creamy feta, smoky smoked almonds, crispy radishes and not one, but two dressings: a sharp and fragrant rosemary-mustard vinaigrette, and a salty tapenade.
The result is a salad that can be a meal in itself. If you can find the slim and elegant French breakfast radishes, make the salad with them rather than the more common Globe varieties. Also, you can’t go wrong with Blue Diamond smoked almonds.
John Broening cooks at Duo and Olivea restaurants in Denver.
Salad of Butter Lettuce, Watercress, Radishes, Smoked Almonds and Feta
Serves 4.
Ingredients
2 heads butter lettuce, outer dark green leaves removed, separated, washed and dried
1 bunch watercress leaves
3 tablespoons finely diced red onion
4 ounces Greek feta, crumbled
4 ounced smoked almonds, chopped
12 French breakfast radishes, quartered
Tapenade (recipe follows)
Rosemary Mustard Vinaigrette (recipe follows)
Freshly ground black pepper
Directions
In a large mixing bowl, toss together the butter lettuce, watercress, red onion, feta and smoked almonds. Add a few tablespoons of the Rosemary Mustard Vinaigrette, a few tablespoons of Tapenade, then a little black pepper. Serve immediately.
Tapenade
Ingredients
1 cup pitted black olives
4 anchovy filets
2 tablespoons capers
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
Pinch chile flakes
Directions
In a food processor, pulse all ingredients. Refrigerate until ready for use
Rosemary Mustard Vinaigrette
Ingredients
4 sprigs rosemary, broken in half
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup champagne vinegar
3 tablespoons Dijon-style mustard
1 tablespoon honey
3/4 cup canola oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Directions
Place rosemary, garlic and olive oil in a small pot along with a pinch of salt. Warm over low heat until the oil starts to bubble. Place the pot in the refrigerator until the oil is cool. Strain.
In a mixing bowl placed on top of a damp rounded kitchen towel (we call this a “turban”), whisk together the vinegar, mustard, honey, salt and pepper. Slowly add the canola oil to emulsify, then a quarter-cup of the rosemary oil (save the remaining rosemary oil for another use).
