Salade De Menthe is very light, delicious, and refreshing summer salad using fresh mint leaves and Bibb lettuce. Adding fresh mint leaves to salads makes the salad more flavorful, as well as adds high concentrations of vitamins A, C and carotene.
Salade De Menthe Recipe from the cookbook Cuisine of the Rose, Classical French Cooking from Burgundy and Lyonnaise, by Mireille Johnston.
More wonderful Salads and Salad Dressing Recipes.
- 10 large or 20 small young mint leaves, washed and dried*
- 4 tablespoons vegetable oil**
- 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
- 1 head Bibb lettuce, washed and torn
- 2 tablespoons walnuts or pecans, chopped
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Thirty (30) minutes before tossing the salad, finely chop the mint leaves and place in a small bowl with the oil; set aside to 'steep'.
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When you are ready to serve, add the vinegar and salt to taste (adding the vinegar earlier will cook and discolor the mint); then toss with the prepared Bibb lettuce.
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Place on serving plates and scatter chopped nuts over the top.
* Harvest only the small young mint leaves, as older mint leaves tend to be bitter. All mint leaves are best used fresh and should be stored only briefly, in plastic bags, in the refrigerator. It is best to hold off rinsing the mint leaves until you are ready to use them
** An extra light olive oil is also excellent with this salad.