The best salads I've had in my life were at Le Bec Fin in Philly & Mustard's in California. It's all about properly preparing the tender, fresh salad greens & 'old school' French vinaigrette.
Spring Salad
Spring is my favorite time to garden… after a long winter, it’s amazing to see rhubarb, asparagus, chives, parsley, pea shoots, ramps, mint & other plants literally pop out of the frozen ground. I love how tender & delicious fruits and vegetables are when fresh!
I grow a variety of lettuces in my garden, under cloches to protect the tender leaves from freezing so in the Spring there is a nice variety. There is also dandelion and purslane once Spring arrives.
I always have a good harvest of salad greens from the greenhouse from November until the Spring. I pick a variety of Spring lettuces to create different textures, flavors & color.
One of my favorite dressings is a simple, emulsified vinaigrette with honey, olive oil, mustard, lemon & herbs... these days I use a little mayonnaise instead of raw egg yolk for the emulsion.
Prep Time: 20 min
Cooking Time: 0 min
Yield: 4 portions
Ingredients Dressing
1 Tbsp Mayonnaise
1 Tbsp. Honey
1/2 Tbsp Grain Mustard
6 Tbsp Olive oil
2 Tbsp Lemon Juice or Cider Vinegar
t.t. Kosher Salt
t.t. Black Pepper, freshly ground
Salad greens such as arugula, bibb, red leaf, oak etc... rinsed and spun dry
t.t. Kosher Salt
t.t. Black Pepper, freshly ground
How to Prepare the Salad
Step 1
Put the mayonnaise, honey and mustard in a bowl, slowly whisk the oil into the honey- mustard, creating an emulsion. Add the lemon and seasonings while continuing to whisk.
Step 2
Clean the lettuces, rinse/spin dry and place the lettuces and salad ingredients into a bowl, season with salt and pepper, add to the dressing and toss.
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Often when I'm fishing, people catch bluefish or skate and throw them back. I always run over and ask to keep one or two. Bluefish are quick and easy to fabricate and a delicious dinner to prepare when I get back home from fishing all day. I prefer simply dredging in seasoned flour and frying pieces in olive oil & butter mixed together. Perfect with cold beer or white wine!
My first professional cooking job was as the poissonnier at Le Cirque in Manhattan. Occasionally the Chef asked me to make fried fingers (goujons) of flounder family meal. Being right out of culinary school, I set up the normal mise en place for standard breading; a tray of sifted flour, eggs and breadcrumbs. Chef came over and taught me the quicker method... flour the seasoned fish in a bowl, add eggs to the floured fish (same bowl) and then breadcrumbs (same bowl). (one bowl and a fraction of the time)! To this day, that’s the method I use to make crispy, fried goujons-these photos are with bluefish fillets Junnie and I caught.
I see fisherman fillet their fish, discard the head & frame! They're amazing at catching fish but have little experience fabricating or cooking the beautiful, fresh fish they get. I'm very interested in sustainability & respectful when I take a fish. I cook from head to tail... that's where the tender, 'chef' cuts are... cheeks, head, on the bones etc... which is perfect for salads, pasta, rice and this frittata. The first time I ate this frittata, I actually thought it was crabmeat!
One of the more challenging classical seafood dishes I know of requires fabricating a whole fish in to perfectly even darnes, trussing the darnes and then gently poaching in a Court Bouillon. While the darnes are still quite hot, the pin bones need to be pulled (they are on a diagonal), the butcher twine needs to be cut away, the skin needs to be peeled and the seafood must be plated without breaking... and served piping hot with Sauce Hollandaise & boiled, tourneed potatoes. I repeatedly practiced this dish for the CMC exam with a whole salmon... quite the challenge!
One of the more challenging classical seafood dishes I know of requires fabricating a whole fish in to perfectly even darnes, trussing the darnes and then gently poaching in a Court Bouillon. While the darnes are still quite hot, the pin bones need to be pulled (they are on a diagonal), the butcher twine needs to be cut away, the skin needs to be peeled and the seafood must be plated without breaking... and served piping hot with Sauce Hollandaise & boiled, tourneed potatoes. I repeatedly practiced this dish for the CMC exam with a whole salmon... quite the challenge!