Free In the Hands of a Chef by Jody Adams Page B

size, color, and acidity. By restricting the focus, it’s easier to appreciate in-season tomatoes, corn that you’ve just stripped off the cob, high-quality sherry vinegar, and fresh herbs.
    Roughly half the recipes of this chapter are based on leafy greens tossed with homemade vinaigrettes. But the addition of one or two other elements—edible flowers, deviled eggs, a mint infusion, fried onions, or a wide variety of herbs—ensures that each is distinctly different. Typically I offer leafy salads after a main course, where they serve as a breather before dessert. But one of green salad’s charms is its ability to become a side dish, main course, or even the slightly sweet finale to a meal.
    The remaining salads are all iconoclasts, sharing only their individuality. Panzanella, a traditional Italian bread salad, and Grilled Onion and Parsley Salad with Black Olives and Pomegranate Seeds are worlds apart in taste and texture. Both are comfortable as side dishes, salad courses, oreven the basis of a lunch entrée. Roasted Pear and Radicchio Salad and Beet and Spinach Salad are composed of separately prepared elements artfully arranged on individual plates, unified only by a sauce or dressing. Either can serve as a formal prelude to a main course or stand alone as the centerpiece of a light lunch.
Local Lettuces with Sherry Vinaigrette and Edible Flowers
    F
ancy garnishes are guilty until
proven innocent in my book, but I make an exception for edible flowers—they actually add to the flavor of a salad. Nasturtiums have an appealing pepperiness; chive blossoms taste almost as you would imagine, with an unexpected sweetness; in fact, the flowers of most herbs have a faint flavor of the herb itself. Johnny-jump-ups, pansies, and rose and marigold petals are also edible, as well as squash and zucchini blossoms. Young dandelion flowers (and their greens) are delicious, but their bitter flavor makes them more appropriate for a salad with stronger flavors. A salad with herbs and baby lettuces is ideal for other edible flowers because it doesn’t need a strong vinaigrette, which would overwhelm the flowers’ mild flavor. Flowers for eating should only be purchased from a grocer, produce dealer, or organic farmer—not a florist.
    MAKES 4 SERVINGS
    1 teaspoon minced shallot
    1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
    1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
    1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
    ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
    Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
    6 cups lightly packed baby lettuces, washed and dried well
    ¾ cup mixed herb leaves (e.g., chervil, parsley, basil, mint, chives, and thyme), stems removed as necessary, large leaves of mint and basil chopped in half
    4 small radishes, cut into ⅛-inch matchsticks
    2 ounces organic edible flowers or flower petals (nasturtium blossoms, pansies, johnny-jumpups, etc.; see headnote)

    1. Whisk the shallot, mustard, and vinegars together in a small bowl to form an emulsion. Continue whisking while adding the olive oil in a thin, steady stream until it is completely absorbed and the vinaigrette is smooth. Season with salt and pepper.
    2. Toss the lettuces in a large bowl with the herbs. Add enough vinaigrette for a light coating and toss gently until everything is dressed. (You may have a little vinaigrette left over, depending on the size and shape of your greens.) Taste, then season with salt and pepper if necessary.
    3. Arrange the salad on chilled plates. Sprinkle each serving with radish sticks and flowers. Serve immediately.
    PREMIUM OIL AND VINEGAR
    T he effort of seeking out edible flowers can be defeated by a poor-quality oil or vinegar. Although you could spend a fortune on balsamic vinegar or single-estate extra virgin olive oil, delicious brands of both are available in specialty food stores for only a modest increase over the price of mass-produced brands. They make a palatable difference. My table olive oil is an extra virgin from Greece; I buy it in gallon cans. I also usually have a