One of the many things Joël Robuchon is famous for is returning the salad to tables of three-Michelin starred restaurants. In the early 1980s, when Robuchon was in the kitchen at Jamin, he served tiny portions of Salade Pastorale aux Herbes. Each leaf was meticulously cut, and dressed with just the right amount of vinaigrette. The salad would include frisée, oak-leaf and red-leaf lettuce, radicchio, romaine, mesclun, arugula, and lamb's lettuce. It would also include fine herbs such as parsley, chervil, tarragon, marjoram, basil, celery leaves, and even mint. The vinaigrette was a balanced concoction of numerous vinegars.
Around the same time, in a remote part of France on the Aubrac plateau, Michel Bras was making a name for himself by serving a “salad” that influences chefs to this day. He referred to his creation as a Gargouillou. But really, it's a composed salad that captures the landscapes, emotions, colors, and shapes of his region. It's an ever-changing dish that expresses the palate of vegetables, herbs, flowers, and fruits available from the surrounding region on any given day. It is painstakingly assembled, with each component being prepared in the way that the chef feels best suits its flavor and texture.
The objective: Take inspiration from these dishes and elevate the composed salad to its rightful place. Feature what's local. Surprise us with unusual or unexpected ingredients. Show off ways you can prepare these ingredients to bring out nature's symphony of flavor and texture. Consider techniques like sous vide, vacuum compression, fermentation, dehydration, cryo-milling, spherification, or something totally novel. Multiple posts are encouraged.
Share your results via the ChefSteps forum. Describe your dish and the techniques used to make it. Describe where your idea or inspiration came from—maybe it's simply a photo of a landscape that inspired you—and finally, post pictures of your version of the dish.
The top 3 posts will have their photos posted on ChefSteps' Pinterest board and you will be celebrated for your innovation and devotion. Please have your entry posted by Friday, June 28, 2013.
