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The delicate blend of flavors in salads

As I write these lines, we're deep into winter, and it's often time for raclettes, tartiflettes and other dishes that keep us warm, especially when the weather's as cold as it is right now.
But we mustn't deprive ourselves of salads, precious sources of vitamins in these cold and sometimes dark months.

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Keywords for this post:Salads Herbs Flavours Mixing Taste Patience

Last modified on: January 11^th 2021

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The delicate blend of flavors in salads

Salads, as we've already talked about with herbs, are really quite simple: you mix the ingredients you've chosen, and the choice is almost infinite, add a few herbs, some sauce, and you're ready to go.

That's exactly it, but you can do better by simply playing with the chronology, without rushing, here's what you could do:

salade brute 1) Put all the ingredients for your salad, in this case a simple salad of grated carrots, into the salad bowl.

salade ajout herbes 2) Add the herbs, in this case coarsely chopped parsley and a finely chopped shallot.

salade mélangée 3) Mix well with a fork, but don't add the sauce.

salade mélangée 4) And here's the trick: cover with a plate and leave to rest for around 30 minutes.

In this way, the carrots will become fragrant with the flavours of the parsley and shallot, before being mixed into the dressing.
It's a simple gesture, but one that significantly improves the taste of your salad.

Finally, add the dressing and mix again, at the last moment, before serving.

It's not much, but it's a small gesture that allows you to take full advantage of the flavors herbs bring to your salad.

To sum up: When preparing a salad, mix the ingredients with the herbs, without the dressing, and leave to rest for around 30 minutes, covered, for a better blend of flavours. Only then add the dressing and serve.

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