THE SALAD

The word comes from the Latin salata, meaning salty and probably coming from the Roman practice of dressing preserved and pickled vegetables. From Babylonia to Elizabethan England dressing greens & lettuces with oil and acid has been very popular. At Eugene we spend a lot of time thinking about salad and have come up with some fundamentals in creating an interesting salad.

• Freshness ‐The whole point of a salad is to celebrate ingredients in the freshest way and from the freshest ingredients; it is a celebration.
• Dressing – dressing should add to but not cover up, it can be as simple as a squeeze of lemon juice and a little olive oil or as complex as over a dozen items.
• Texture – good salads having a pleasing salad, I personally like some form of crisp, whether in the form of croutons, toasted nuts or a crisp lettuce.

When we came up with this salad we wanted to celebrate freshness, we wanted to celebrate our region and we wanted a salad which changed with every bite. It is a lot of ingredients but can be simplified in many ways. Here it goes by category:

Greens:

(Farmers salad mixes contain many of these pre‐ mixed and ready to go)
baby lettuce hearts
baby kale
mustard greens
wild greens‐ramp, lamb’s lettuce
herbs‐parsley, tarragon, chive
radish leaves
small beet leaves
baby carrot fronds
small turnip greens

Vegetables

radish, shaved
mushy peas w/ buttermilk
garlic chips
crisp shallots

Sauce

beet green pistou
fruit jam from market
champagne with champagne vinegar
olive oil
ham bark syrup
coddled farm egg

Preservation

macerated kale
green tomato pickles from market

Nut & Seed

spiced pecans
toasted benne seed wafer

Misc

crisp bread
fleur de sel
fresh black pepper
Beet Green Pistou
beet greens 6 oz
kosher salt ½ tsp
garlic clove, minced 1
walnuts, toasted ¼ c
boiling water 3 tbl
olive oil 6 tbl
lemon juice 1 tsp

Method

1. remove stems and chiffonade leaves
2. in vita prep, combine leaves, salt, garlic and half the nuts
3. add the boiling water and puree till coarse
4. slowly add olive oil to smooth puree
5. adjust seasoning with lemon juice and salt

Crispy Shallots

Shallots 5 ea
peanut oil 6 cups
kosher salt pinch

Method

1. heat oil to 275
2. peel and slice shallots using a razor mandolin to ultra thin rounds
3. separate rounds and lower into oil
4. fry in small batches until light golden brown, agitating every 30 sec
5. pull shallots out of oil, place on paper towels and loosely separate
6. season

Spiced Pecans ‐ 2 qt

1 lb pecans halves
1 lb confection sugar 10x
3 tbl creole seasoning

Method

1. boil pecans in water until they become slightly tender
2. remove to large bowl and coat well in sugar
3. fry in vegetable oil at 350 until dark golden brown
4. remove from oil, toss in creole seasoning and cool on large sheet pans to prevent
5. sticking Note: they will crisp as they cool

Ham Bark Sorghum Gastrique

1 qt

Ingredients

1 pint sorghum syrup
¼ lb smoked country ham skin
1 pint apple cider vinegar
1 ea bay leaf
10 ea black peppercorns
½ c sweet onion, like Vidalia
1 c bourbon

Method

1. add onion to thick bottomed pot, add bourbon and bring to a boil, flame off the alcohol
2. add remaining ingredients and cook down by 25%
3. strain through a chinois fine and use as needed.
4. Notes: We use this sauce in more reduced form as an accompaniment to roast meats. We also use it to augment other sauces; specifically fruit based meat jus reductions ‐great with foie gras.

Garlic Chips

Garlic Cloves, sliced thinly 5ea
whole milk 1c
peanut oil for frying 4c

Method

1. place thinly sliced garlic in cold milk
2. bring to a boil, drain discarding milk, repeat
3. pat garlic dry with paper towels
4. heat oil to 300 F and fry until light golden brown
5. remove from fryer on to paper towels, season while warm