Summer Salad Composee

I always thought, when I was a student at French culinary school, that the Salad Composee was overtaught. I thought it merited a nodd. But, now I see that it teaches a very clear culinary lesson. When you cut anything to be eaten, how you cut it determines (with other factors) how you will taste it. The Salad Composee is interesting because it serves its' components separately, amassed on a plate. Traditionally each part of the salad is dressed individually, before the plate is arranged.

Whenever you make a dish, particularly a salad, the larger chunks will spend more time in your mouth, on your tongue. They'll get more "air time". So, in this salad my melon was very pungent and ripe, it would take over the more subtle flavors of say, the cucumbers, so I sliced them super thinly. You always want to consider what will make the perfect bite. What do you want to taste the most? Make it bigger. If every element plays against the other in proportion, things should work out quite well.

One thing to remember: if you are cooking something, different rules apply. Things like root vegetables generally can be mixed when cooked and cut to the same size for even cooking… more on chopping at some later time…


1 cup cucumber, cut in 1 inch slices
1/2 cups super finely sliced melon
1 small endive, thinly sliced into rounds
1/4 cup shredded carrots
1/4 cup finely sliced raw beets
3 mint leaves, minced
juice of 1/2 lime
2 teaspoons olive oil
coarse flakey sea salt and pepper, to taste


Place all the vegetables in sections inside a large salad bowl. Scatter the mint leaves, salt and pepper. Drizzle with olive oil.