Salad, French Style

One of the first culinary revelations I had in Paris was the salade composée. Whereas most of the salads I had experienced in Missouri up to that point in my young life were sloppy heaps of iceberg with an occasional carrot, French salads were presented in orderly little stacks of veggies and pickled goodies. Salade composée, composed salad, was elegantly arranged with flavors that mingled together deliciously.

As result of this early Parisian training in "how to make salad look yummy," when possible I take a little extra time to arrange my salad components in a pleasing way. Even when you're just throwing together a jar of Ragu and some penne for dinner, this salad takes the meal from "pas mal" to "très bien."