Vegetable Salads

Salads can be made with a variety of raw vegetables: crudités fashioned from fresh, peeled seasonal produce and served with a red chili pepper sauce or Bagna cauda dip, ripe tomatoes moistened with olive oil and lemon; julienne of celery root rémoulade with mustard mayonnaise. Cooked vegetables are even more versatile, tossed in a vinaigrette dressing or mixed with mayonnaise. They are also the basis of hearty salads like French salade niçoise with tuna and olives.

Texture is important for vegetable salads. Uncooked vegetables should be crunchy; if they seem tough, they should be blanched. Cooked vegetables should be cooked until just tender but firm, and then refreshed and thoroughly drained. Whether raw or cooked, marinating for an hour or two benefits robust vegetables such as onions, but after 12 hours they may start to lose flavor and become acidic. Dressings and mayonnaise should be added just before serving, except for potato vinaigrette (below), where the dressing is added to the warm vegetables. Vegetable salads should be stored covered in the refrigerator. However, most taste better at room temperature, so take them out half an hour before serving. Vinaigrette salad Serves 4. Boil 1 lb/500 g vegetables such as leek, asparagus, green beans, potatoes or root vegetables until tender. Drain the vegetables and while still warm and absorbent mix with ½ cup/125 ml of vinaigrette dressing.