Salade Parisienne

Regular readers may have noticed that another cookbook snuck onto my bookshelves recently - Mirka & Georges, by Lesley Harding and Kendrah Morgan.  Mirka was an artist, who along with her husband Georges owned several cafés and a restaurant in Melbourne in the 1950s and 60s.  This book, subtitled A Culinary Affair, includes recipes found amongst her notebooks and papers, plus dishes noted in her personal cookbook collection.  Mirka being French, cooked French dishes so you will find bouillabaisse, omelette, coq au vin and similar recipes in this book.   

one of Mirka's artworks on the cover

This recipe was a first for me, folks.  I needed a chunk of beef for this dish, so I cooked a mini rump roast, something I've never done before.  And much to my surprise, it actually turned out just like it was supposed to - medium rare.  Well, to be fair I did just follow the instructions on the wrapping paper :-)  This is a salad composed of beef and potatoes, with a very robust dressing.  I briefly thought of subbing the beef with chicken, but I decided Mirka must have known what she was doing.  So beef it is!   


Serves 4:

Serve at room temperature or cold


ingredients:


Salad:


450g. (1 lb) roast beef - I used a mini rump roast

12 baby potatoes (or 8 medium), boiled or steamed till tender

8-12 gherkins (depending on size), sliced on the diagonal

sea salt flakes - say 1 teaspoon?

freshly ground black pepper, maybe 10-12 grinds of the mill?

3-4 French shallots, finely chopped

1 cup parsley, finely chopped or snipped with scissors


Dressing:


4 tbs extra virgin olive oil

1 tbs grain or Dijon mustard

1 tbs white wine vinegar

1 tbs (baby) capers, rinsed well and chopped small(er) if liked



Method:


Slice up the roasted beef  as thick or thin as you prefer - I like it thin:-)

Cut up the spuds as you desire - I sliced mine about 1/2 cm. thick

Place the beef and potato slices in a salad bowl

Throw in the gherkins, shallots, seasoning and parsley

Mix the dressing ingredients in a small jug till well combined

Tip the dressing over the salad, and give it all a good stir

Serve with crusty bread if you want to make it even more of a meal

OR do as Mirka did - serve it on a platter, putting beef, potatoes and gherkins in a layer, then on goes salt and pepper, shallots, parsley and dressing over.  Continue layering till all the ingredients are used up 



Notes:


Cook the beef to your taste; I like it medium-rare, though Mirka goes for rare.  I just followed the instructions on the meat wrapper as I didn't have a clue how to cook it!

Mr P. actually micro-waved the spuds with seasoning and a bit of olive oil (and/or butter).  This is his new party trick!

after seasoning, the cute little rump goes into the oven  

ingredients gathered, my little wizard friends :-) 

waiting for its dressing

dressing ingredients

turn into this:-)

ready for mixing

dressing mixed in, and salad ready to eat   

tangy dressing over a hearty salad

Mr P. and I are not big meat eaters, having been vegetarian for a decade in our youth, but this was a deliciously hearty and tangy salad.  I may not make it again, just 'cos all that meat, but let me hasten to tell you folks, it really is a pleasure to eat.  I do recommend giving it a go.

  portrait of Mirka by James McArdle
 (Wikimedia Commons) 

(This photo is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International.)

gherkins artwork by Sherry's Pickings