SC - Mediterranean Feast

[Philip & Susan Troy]

Lenny Zimmermann wrote:
> To be more specific, Castelvetro proclaims:"Of all the salads we eat
> in the spring, the mixed salad is the best and most wonderful of all.
> Take young leaves of mint, those of garden cress, basil, lemon balm,
> the tips of salad burnet, tarragon, the flowers and tenderest leaves
> of borage, the flowers of swine cress, the young shoots of fennel,
> leaves of rocket, of sorrel, rosemary flowers, some sweet violets, and
> the tenderest leaves or the hearts of lettuce. When these precious
> herbs have been picked clean and washed in several waters, and dried a
> little with a clean linen cloth, they are dressed as usual, with oil,
> salt and vinegar." Let me reiterate that drying part, I know quite a
> few people who can't stand going to a restaurant and having a puddle
> of water at the bottom of their salad bowl. It is apparently
> unappetizing to some people.

The theory is that neither an emulsified vinaigrette nor the oil
component of a broken, unemulsified one, will stick to greens that are
wet. Also, seasonings have a way of being diluted by the presence of
excess moisture on salad greens. Lastly, a salad that isn't dried of
excess moisture deteriorates rapidly, turning into a mass of
translucent, semi-blackened goo after an hour or two on a buffet. These
objections are all pretty much theoretical in nature, and many people
don't find them important. I suppose it depends to some extent on
whether you're being paid to find them important. ;  ).

Adamantius