Yoshie's Fall 2008 Salads

In the fall of 2008 Yoshie began experimenting with a new style of salad. She was looking for something more substantial than our normal salad, one with more flavour and texture contrasts, that could stand up as the center of the evening meal. With work busy we were eating rather late in the evening, and wanted something more than a snack but less than a full meal.

The new (to us anyway) approach that she developed changed the three main parts of the salad, what we think of as the spirit, the body and the ground.

The spirit, also known as the salad dressing, became more complex. In the past we have used a roughly fifty-fifty balance of oil and vinegar, leaning a bit towards more oil. The main exception would be dressings using lemon juice as the acid, where there would be relatively more oil. In the new style we go for about two-thirds vinegar to one-third oil. They key, though, is to mix vinegars to call out new flavors. One approach is to start with some black rice vinegar and then add in a gentle apple vinegar. Here we generally do one-fifth black vinegar for four-fifths apple. Another style is to use a mixture of champagne and red wine vinegars, blending for balance and high lighting with herbs. We have also upped the amount of shallots in the vinegar and added an edge by putting in very small amounts of various citrus peels. This mixture needs some time to blend and merge flavours, at least an hour and it does well over night, so we begin with this. Once the tone of the vinegar is established we mix oils to match, usually a neutral oil, grapeseed is good, with a hint of a nut or sesame oil, but sometimes an olive oil, preferably one with a bit of a bite.

The body is something added to give the meal substance. Our preferences lean to a medley of dry roasted mushrooms, preferably three or four kinds, with some minced garlic thrown in, or a roasted Japanese eggplant, maybe with a hint of miso and mirin. The stems of broccoli, boiled in heavily salted water, is something we often use. Beets are good too of course, small beets do best, or any other roast vegetable. A grilled fish or some chicken can add the necessary protein. Thai style crispy deep fried fish, broken in small pieces, is a nice change.

For the ground we have been using some of the heavier and crisper vegetables. Thinly sliced cabbage, combining colours, is exceptionally good. With cabbage we find it helps to let it marinate in the dressing for five minutes or so before serving. We also use French beans or asparagus as a base for these salads. Frisee can work as well. In any case, the ground should have some crunch in it and contrast with the taste of the body while highlighting the dressing.

As with all foods, it helps to pay attention to colours, and make sure that there are bright and dark shades in the meal.

We have been eating these slowly, talking, and drinking wine. The evening passes smoothly into night and the street sounds fade into the background of our voices and maybe some music.