Salade Composée, Day 1, Roast Beef and Tomato

When I was in elementary school, my family vacationed in France (mostly around Paris) many, many times.  But it wasn't until I traveled there on my own during my undergraduate and graduate school years that I really developed an appreciation for the food there.  Yes, the pastries are délicieuses, the baguettes are incroyables, and the cheeses, mon dieu!  But funny enough, one of the dishes that I most fondly recall is the salade composée.

A salade composée literally translates to a composed salad.  It is a dish of fresh produce, un-tossed, arranged into a beautiful, colorful display.  There is no "right" or "standard" version, the salad is made with whatever the cook has fresh on-hand that day, and the best ones come from the tiny 5-table mom-and-pop eateries tucked down the small cobblestone alleys.  Crisp lettuce, juicy tomatoes, sweet corn, crunchy cucumbers, shaved carrots, snappy haricots verts, creamy baby potatoes, thin slices of salty salami or ham, hardboiled eggs, the variety is endless.  It is then drizzled with a simple, light vinaigrette.  During my travels if an eatery had a salade composée on their menu, that's what I'd order.

With these beautiful memories in mind, I am going to embark on a 1-week salade composée vacation in my kitchen.  For each of the next 7 days, I will be making a salade composée for lunch.  Each version different than the last. I want to show you that a satisfying salad does not have to be boring or tossed in some heavy goopy dressing.  Think fresh, and think flavorful.  I'm drooling.  Let's get started!

Salade Composée, Day 1, Roast Beef and Tomato


Ingredients:

• deli roast beef slices
• steamed asparagus, chilled
• cubed cantaloupe, chilled
• mozzarella ovals, halved
• grape tomatoes, halved
• steamed green beans, chilled
• Newman's Own Light Balsamic Vinaigrette

Directions:

• Arrange ingredients onto a plate and drizzle sparingly with vinaigrette.