This salad is based on a salad I used to get 30 or more years ago at Courtney’s Bistro in Manhattan Beach. I think it was the first time I had a real tomato, and I loved it. This recipe is about good ingredients simply presented so they show off their best. The mushrooms are done ahead of time, so this recipe is a snap to assemble last minute, and looks elegant on a plate making it a good one for company. Prep the lettuce ahead of time and store in a box wrapped in toweling in the refrigerator to make things easier. The mushrooms need to be started ahead of time-in the morning, the day before, or at least 2 hours ahead of serving.
INGREDIENTS:
1 pound button or cremini mushrooms, sliced 1/8th inch thick 1 cup Basic White Wine Vinaigrette dressing (see recipe), boiling 2 large ripe tomatoes (I don’t care what kind as long as they are flavorful. You want enough to cover a 4 to 5 inch circle on the plate. If the tomatoes aren’t large, use enough medium sized ones.) sliced around ¼ inch thick 1 head of green oak leaf or butter lettuce, washed and dried, leaves whole Large grain salt such as Maldon, Murray River, or Diamond Crystal Kosher, and fresh ground pepper to taste
METHOD:
Bring the dressing to a boil and pour it over the sliced mushrooms. Gently toss the mushrooms to coat with the dressing. Leave the mushrooms out to cool to room temperature, tossing occasionally to coat the slices. When the mushrooms are room temperature, put into the refrigerator to chill. (Be sure to pull the mushrooms 20 minutes before using so the dressing has time to melt from a semi-solid state to a liquid.)
When it is time to serve, pour the mushrooms into a strainer set over a bowl to catch the dressing. Place 4 chilled plates on a work surface, then place the lettuce leaves flat on the plate to cover most of the plate.
Arrange the tomatoes on each plate so they cover an area around 4 to 5 inches in diameter. If you have large tomatoes, just use 2 slices from the center slightly over-lapping. For smaller tomatoes, overlap in a circular pattern.
Once the tomatoes are down, scoop a quarter of the mushrooms onto the center of the tomatoes and use the bottom of the spoon to spread them around a little.
Just before serving, sprinkle each salad with pepper and a pinch of salt.
Serve while the salad is still chilled.
Chef’s Notes:
You could use regular balsamic dressing, white balsamic, or even red wine vinaigrette for the mushrooms with excellent results. Butter lettuces are also excellent in this salad as well as the oak leaf. Avoid things like romaine or iceberg for this.
Serves: 4
Source: Chef Andrew E Cohen
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