French Salad

Ah un jour magnifique, mon cheri! Summer is here, at least it feels like it. I was craving one of the yummy salads we had in Paris so I decided to make one for lunch. On top of some arugula I placed some sliced rotisserie chicken breast, then on to the dressing.

In a small horseradish jar, I save small lidded jars for just this reason, put in about four glugs of good quality olive oil, squeeze in some fresh lemon juice, a generous splash of white vinegar, add a teaspoon or so of french mustard, some minced shallots, salt from a Parisian farmers market (oh Oui!) put the top on and shake that baby up. The secret to this luscious salad is that I warm up the dressing (in the jar sans top) for about 20 seconds in the microwave. I cut up some fresh chervil and tarragon from the garden, to taste, added some sliced almonds, a bit of crumbled feta, four or five grape tomatoes slided in half, a couple croutons and tossed together. Dress the salad and grind some fresh pepper on top. Viola!
Made me feel like I made something extra special but almost everything was pre-cooked, pre-cut, pre-washed, pre-chopped. It took no time at all. I like to keep these simple ingredients in my fridge/pantry so I can whip up a lovely lunch like this in minutes. Plus just cap the remaining dressing and put it in the fridge for later. Salads just seem to taste better on beautiful days like today, I almost feel like I am at a sidewalk cafe. Crank up the Edith Piaf! Bon Appetite!