“The act of cooking ends in creativity but begins in the hands.” – Chef Robert Reynolds
I just posted a new Novice to Pro interview with Chef Robert Reynolds, cookbook author, cooking teacher, restauranteur, and a heck of a nice guy. I called Chef Reynolds today in Portland, Oregon, and we talked about food, cooking, France, and his culinary school, Chefs Studio.
Chef Reynolds honed his culinary arts skills under the tutelage of two culinary giants- Marcelleine Kamman and Josephine Araldo. The duo, who also co-authored the cookbook From a Breton Garden, significantly shaped Chef Reynolds’ culinary style. He later established the highly acclaimed restaurant Le Trou in San Francisco, which remained a culinary hotspot from 1982 to 1996.
I’d like you to stay tuned for my interview with Chef Reynolds. In it, he shares invaluable tips for novice cooks to overcome their cooking fears and reveals the key elements he considers when crafting a recipe from scratch. As a bonus, he graciously shared his recipe for Three Salads from his cookbook, An Excuse To Be Together, which will surely delight your taste buds.
Three Salads
Arrange all three salad recipes nicely on a plate. For lunch, garnish them with butter lettuce and hard-cooked eggs. You might sense what it is like to grow up with a French Maman who often makes dishes like these, so don’t forget the baguette!
Butter Lettuce
Butter lettuce, or Boston or Bibb lettuce, is a delicate and tender leafy green prized for its mild flavor, buttery texture, and attractive appearance. Its leaves are soft and pliable, with a slightly sweet taste, making it a versatile ingredient in salads, sandwiches, wraps, and garnishes.
One of the key characteristics of butter lettuce is its loose, round-shaped heads with tender, pale green leaves that form a rosette-like structure. The leaves are often smooth and ruffled along the edges, adding a touch of elegance to dishes.
Nutritionally, butter lettuce is a low-calorie vegetable that provides essential vitamins and minerals. It is particularly rich in vitamins A and K, as well as folate and potassium. Its high water content also helps keep the body hydrated and contributes to a feeling of fullness.
In culinary applications, butter lettuce’s delicate nature makes it an excellent base for salads, allowing it to gently cradle other ingredients without overpowering them. Its subtle flavor pairs well with a wide range of dressings, from tangy vinaigrettes to creamy ranch. Its tender leaves are also perfect for wrapping fillings, such as grilled vegetables, seafood, or chicken, creating light and refreshing appetizers or snacks.
Whether used as a standalone ingredient or as part of a larger dish, butter lettuce adds a touch of freshness and elegance to any meal, making it a favorite among chefs and home cooks alike.
Neutral Oils
Neutral oils are those that have a mild flavor and a high smoke point, making them suitable for various cooking methods such as frying, sautéing, baking, and salad dressings. Some common examples of neutral oils include:
- Canola Oil: Extracted from the seeds of the canola plant, it has a light flavor and a high smoke point, making it versatile for cooking.
- Grapeseed Oil: Pressed from grape seeds, grapeseed oil has a neutral flavor and a high smoke point, making it ideal for frying and baking.
- Sunflower Oil: Made from sunflower seeds, sunflower oil has a light flavor and a high smoke point, making it suitable for cooking at high temperatures.
- Safflower Oil: Extracted from the seeds of the safflower plant, safflower oil is another neutral oil with a high smoke point, making it suitable for frying and baking.
- Avocado Oil: Cold-pressed from avocados, it has a mild flavor and a high smoke point, making it suitable for various cooking methods.
- Refined Coconut Oil: While unrefined coconut oil has a coconut flavor, refined coconut oil is neutral and has a high smoke point, making it suitable for frying and baking.
These oils are often preferred for cooking because they do not impart a strong flavor to the food and can withstand high temperatures without breaking down or producing harmful compounds.
Chef Robert Reynolds’ Three Salads
Ingredients
Carrot Salad
- 6 medium carrots
For the Vinaigrette
- salt to taste
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 4 tablespoons oil neutral - see Note above
- 1 tablespoon parsley chopped
- freshly ground pepper
Beet Salad
- 3 beets whole
Celery Root Salad
- 1 head celery root about 1 pound
For the Mayonnaise
- ½ lemon juice from
- salt to taste
- 1 egg yolk
- ¾ cup flavorless oil See note above in carrot salad
- 1 tablespoon chives finely-chopped
Instructions
Carrot Salad
- Grate 2 cups of new carrots through the fine holes of a box grater.
For the Vinaigrette
- Put a generous pinch of sea salt into a small bowl.
- Add 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar, swirling to dissolve the salt.
- Add Dijon mustard to taste and using a fork, whisk to incorporate 4 tablespoons of oil.
- Toss the carrots with chopped parsley.
- Finish with salt and pepper to taste.
Beet Salad
- Roast 2 to 3 whole, medium-sized beets at 350°F until they become fork tender, about an hour.
- When they have cooled, peel them.
- Dice or shred and put into a bowl before tossing with another vinaigrette.
Celery Root Salad
- Quarter the celery root, peel, then grate through the large holes of a box grater.
- Bring water to a boil, add half a tablespoon of salt and blanch the celery root for 1 minute.
- Drain and squeeze gently to dry thoroughly. Leave in a bowl to cool.
For the Mayonnaise
- Prepare a mayonnaise in a food processor with the juice of half a lemon, a teaspoon of sea salt and one egg yolk.
- Turn the machine on and slowly pour in ¾ cup of flavorless oil in a steady stream. When half the oil has been added, taste for seasoning. (If the sauce needs more salt, dilute a pinch in a tablespoon of boiling water. The heat helps set the egg and loosens the texture of the mayonnaise.)
- With the machine running, add the remaining oil in a thin stream to finish the mayonnaise.
- Toss the blanched celery root with the mayonnaise.
- Decorate the salad with a tablespoon of finely chopped chives.
