Three Salad Chiffonade Recipes

CHIFFONADE DRESSING

Steps:

• Fill a medium saucepan 3/4 full of water; add beets and salt, and bring to a boil. Simmer beets until tender, about 30 minutes. Drain; set aside until cool enough to handle, about 12 minutes. Using a paper towel, rub off beet skins. Cut beets into 1/4-inch pieces, and set aside.
• Peel eggs, and separate yolks from whites. Cut whites into 1/4-inch pieces; set aside. Press yolks through a fine sieve into a small bowl; set aside.
• In a small bowl, whisk together vinegar and oil. Season with salt and pepper.
• To serve, drizzle vinaigrette over each aspic serving. Spoon reserved beets, egg whites, and egg yolks over top, and sprinkle with chives.

THREE-LETTUCE CHIFFONADE

Steps:

• Rinse, drain and pat dry the radicchio, bibb and iceberg lettuce.
• Stack radicchio leaves and cut into very fine shreds. There should be about 2 cups. Put shreds in a large bowl. Repeat with the bibb and iceberg lettuce. There should be about 2 cups of each. Add to the bowl.
• Add the onion rings, oil, vinegar, salt and pepper and blend well. Serve immediately

CAESAR SALAD CHIFFONADE WITH SHRIMP OR CRAB

Steps:

• Whisk together all ingredients. Put Romaine chiffonade in a large bowl, add the dressing and toss lightly, add salt and pepper to taste and toss again.
• Place a ring on the plate, such as a clean tuna can with both ends removed.
• Fill the ring approximately half full with romaine, add shrimp or crab and chives lightly packing it down in the ring with a spoon.
• Add more Romaine, filling the ring to the top, packing it down again lightly.
• Carefully remove the ring, top with Parmesan and croutons and serve.

SALAD OF SHREDDED GREENS AND SMOKED SALMON (CHIFFONNADE DE SAUMON)

Steps:

• In small bowl, combine creme fraiche or sour cream, lemon juice and paprika.
• Stack several lettuce leaves and, using long chef's knife, cut into fine strips, as if slicing cabbage for cole slaw. Place in large salad bowl and toss with dressing.
• Distribute lettuce among 4 salad plates and cover each with several strips of salmon. Serve immediately.

COLD LOBSTER WITH BASIL VINAIGRETTE

Steps:

• Put the water, peppercorns, salt, thyme, bay leaves and pepper flakes in a kettle large enough to hold the lobsters. Cover and bring to a boil.
• Add the lobsters quickly, one at a time, and cover. When the water returns to a boil, cook the lobsters for 10 minutes and drain thoroughly. When the lobsters are cool enough to handle, break off the tails and remove the meat from each in one piece. Crack the large claws and remove the meat from each in one piece. Remove the meat from the remaining claw shells. Put all the meat in a bowl.
• Stack the basil leaves and cut them into fine shreds. There should be about 1/2 cup. Add to the bowl.
• Put the olive oil, shallots, vinegar and salt in a small mixing bowl and toss to blend well.
• To serve, cut each piece of tail meat on the bias into 1/2-inch-thick medallions. Reassemble the slices from one lobster tail on a plate. Arrange two of the large pieces of claw meat at the top of the tail meat to resemble a lobster shape. Spoon about a quarter of the sauce over the tail and claw meat. Scatter a quarter of the small pieces of lobster meat around. Garnish each side of the tail meat with a quarter of the recipe for three-salad chiffonade. Repeat with the remaining lobster meat and three-salad chiffonade.

SAUTEED SPINACH CHIFFONADE WITH SHALLOTS

Steps:

• Discard coarse stems of spinach. Wash spinach thoroughly and drain. Working in batches, stack leaves on top of one another and cut into 1/2-inch-wide strips.
• In a large heavy skillet cook shallots in oil over moderate heat, stirring, until softened. Add spinach and salt and pepper to taste and sauté over moderately high heat, stirring, until wilted and tender, about 3 minutes.