Conscious Choice: Autumn Greens

October 2001 | Cooking with the Seasons

Autumn Greens

by Terra Brockman

The falling leaves
Drift by my window,
The autumn leaves
Of red and gold...

Besides the maples and oaks, there is another set of autumn leaves — the green, red, and bronze leaves of the crisp, tasty, salad greens of fall. Old Nat King Cole would have been singing a happier tune if it had been those autumn leaves he was singing about.

In the popular imagination, salad is a summer thing — a cool delight on a hot day. In fact, lettuce is a cool-weather crop, prone to bolting and bitterness in the full heat of summer. Lettuces and other salad greens grow best and taste best when daytime temperatures are in the sixties. So now is the perfect time for a perfect salad. For many, that perfect salad is a mesclun salad, a tasty combination of flavors, colors, and textures that is a treat for the eye as well as the palate. The palette of colors extends through all shades of green to deep reds and bronzes. Textures may be soft and rounded or crackling with sharp, serrated edges.

Mesclun

Mesclun originated centuries ago around Nice in the south of France. The word mesclun (pronounced "mes-cloon," not "mescaline" — although my brother is always amused when a farmer’s market customer asks for a bag of his terrific mescaline) derives from the Niçois dialect word mesclumo, meaning "a mixture." The traditional mixture has a bitter, spicy edge and includes various kinds of wild and cultivated endive (chicory), lamb’s lettuce, and dandelion. Arugula, groundsel, chervil, purslane, and leaf lettuces also take part in the mix.

In typical Yankee fashion, however, Americans threw out the traditional mix and re-defined mesclun as any mix of leafy greens. This open admissions policy — and the packaging and cheapening of ingredients by produce giants — leaves some yearning for the French original. Food critic Marian Burros in the New York Times bemoaned the "dumbing down" of mesclun, denouncing the marketing of bland, pedestrian ingredients under a fancy French name.

In fact, the broadened definition of mesclun may not be such a bad thing, as it allows the farmer to choose the tastiest, freshest leaves every week throughout the growing season. It is possible, even desirable, for each week’s mesclun, even each mouthful of mesclun, to have a different taste and texture, from soft mild Bibb lettuces to crisp and tangy arugula or mizuna. You can make your own mesclun mix, fancy or plain, spicy or mild, by buying the ingredients separately. Or you may put your salad bowl in the capable hands of a good farmer’s market or CSA farmer, who picks the mix of leafy greens that is perfectly in season each week of the year.

A typical farmer’s market mesclun in autumn may include the four types of lettuces (Bibb, Romaine, oakleaf, and crisphead), arugula, endive, red and green salad mustard, fennel, escarole, baby spinach and chard, and tender wild greens such as lamb’s quarters and purslane. Specialty gardeners may also add mizuna, a delicate, leafy green from Japan, and tatsoi, another Asian green with sweet dark leaves. Fancy mesclun mixes also contain edible flowers such as bachelor’s buttons, calendulas, chive blossoms, marigolds, nasturtiums, and violets.

Those who must buy their mesclun in the bins of large grocery stores will not find the same variety, nutritional quality, and tasty freshness that home gardeners, CSA members, and farmer’s market-goers can bring to their tables. Wild purslane, perhaps the choicest salad ingredient, is never found in commercial mixes because it does not have a long shelf life. Its tart, lemony leaves are a rich source of vitamin E and omega-3 fatty acids, said to reduce the risk of heart disease. Next most nutritious are leaves of the Chenopodicea family (spinach, chard, lamb’s quarters, and beet greens), and leaves of the Brassica family, including mustard greens and arugula. All of these are high in vitamins A and C, calcium, potassium, and a whole range of cancer-fighting indoles and other phytochemicals. The National Garden Bureau reports that even looseleaf lettuces are loaded with vitamin A and also are high in potassium. All salad greens are extremely low in calories. As with any other produce, mesclun will be at its tastiest and will contain the most nutrients when it is picked fresh.

The French dress their mesclun salads with a vinaigrette made of olive oil and wine vinegar, flavored with fines herbes, garlic, and anchovies. In the United States mesclun is almost exclusively served as a salad dressed with a light vinaigrette. However, when stir-fried or wilted in a bit of butter or hot oil, mesclun makes a delicious addition to fresh vegetable dishes or pastas.

In any of the recipes below, feel free to create your own mesclun mix. My favorite includes soft lettuces such as Boston, mixed with red oakleaf, arugula, and bite-size pieces of curly endive (frisée), and radicchio.

Simple Mesclun Salad with French Vinaigrette

1/4 cup finely chopped shallots
1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 Tablespoons red-wine vinegar
1/3 cup olive oil or safflower oil
1 pound mesclun

1. Whisk together the shallots, mustard, and vinegar.

2. Add oil in a slow stream, whisking until emulsified, and season with salt and pepper.

3. Just before serving, toss salad greens with just enough dressing to coat. (Makes four servings.)

Hearty Mesclun Salad with Hazelnuts and Goat Cheese

For vinaigrette:
2 Tablespoons sherry vinegar
1 Tablespoon chopped shallots
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoons hazelnut oil
2 Tablespoons light olive oil
For salad:
1/4 cup hazelnuts, toasted then chopped
5 cups mixed lettuces (about 2 pounds)
1 bunch purslane (about 1/2 pound)
1 bunch arugula (about 1/2 pound)
Small head of radicchio (about 1/3 pound)
2-4 ounces crumbled goat cheese

1. To make the vinaigrette, combine vinegar, shallots, and salt. Slowly whisk in the oils.

2. Toast the hazelnuts in a baking pan in a 350 degrees F. oven until golden and sweet-smelling. Cool and then chop fine.

3. To make the salad, tear large lettuce leaves in bite-size pieces; keep small ones whole. Coarsely chop purslane and arugula. (The stems of these are as delicious and nutritious as the leaves, and need to be trimmed only if the plants are very mature.) Trim radicchio base; cut leaves into small pieces.

4. Toss the greens, hazelnuts, and goat cheese. Add vinaigrette and toss well to coat all the leaves. Serve immediately. (Makes eight servings.)

Fancy Fall Mesclun Salad with Stilton, Grapes, and Apples

For vinaigrette:
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar
3 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh tarragon leaves
For salad:
1/4 cup sliced almonds
20 red seedless grapes
1 crisp apple
3/4 pound mesclun
1/4 cup crumbled Stilton cheese (about one ounce)

1. In a large bowl whisk together mustard and vinegar. Add oil in a slow stream, whisking until emulsified. Whisk in tarragon and salt and pepper to taste.

2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. In a shallow baking pan, toast almonds until golden, six to eight minutes. Cool.

3. Halve the grapes. Core the apple and cut it into sixteen wedges.

4. Add mesclun to vinaigrette and toss to coat well.

5. Divide the greens and apple slices among four plates and top with grapes, cheese, and almonds. (Makes four servings.)

Mesclun and Radicchio Salad with Honey-Shallot Vinaigrette

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 Tablespoon chopped shallots
2 teaspoons honey
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 heads radicchio (about one pound)
1 pound mesclun
1 cup packed fresh flat-leafed parsley leaves

1. In a small bowl, whisk together vinegar, shallots, honey, mustard, and salt and pepper. Add oil in a slow stream, whisking until emulsified.

2. Trim radicchio and tear it into bite-size pieces. In a large bowl toss together radicchio, mesclun, and parsley.

3. Just before serving, drizzle the vinaigrette over the salad and toss well, adding more salt and pepper to taste. (Makes six servings.)

Spicy Mesclun with Hot Garlic Dressing

1/3 cup olive oil
4 large cloves of garlic, minced
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1-1/2 pounds spicy mesclun mix, or your own mix of spicy greens such as mustard greens, arugula, dandelion, endive, escarole, and mizuna
Salt and freshly ground black better to taste

1. Heat oil and garlic in a small saucepan over moderate heat until fragrant, about one minute.

2. Stir in vinegar and let the mixture come to a boil. Pour the hot dressing over the greens. Season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately. (Makes six to eight servings.)

Mesclun and Roasted Potato Salad

1-1/2 pounds small boiling potatoes such as Kennebec, Sangré, or French Fingerlings
1 large garlic clove, chopped fine
1/2 cup olive oil
1 shallot, chopped fine
1-1/2 Tablespoons sherry vinegar or red-wine vinegar
1-1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 pound mixed greens such as frisée, mizuna, arugula, baby chard leaves, and lettuces
3 tomatoes, cut into thin wedges
1/4 cup finely grated Parmigiano Reggiano

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Toss potato pieces with garlic, two tablespoons of the oil, and salt and pepper.

2. Arrange the potatoes in a single layer in an oiled shallow baking pan. Roast fifteen minutes, then turn over. Roast until golden and cooked through, about five minutes more.

3. Make the salad dressing by whisking together the shallots, vinegar, mustard, salt, and pepper to taste. Add the remaining olive oil (about six tablespoons) in a slow stream, whisking until emulsified.

4. Toss together greens, potatoes, tomatoes, three quarters of the Parmigiano Reggiano, and the vinaigrette.

5. Sprinkle the remaining Parmigiano Reggiano over the salad and serve immediately. (Makes four servings.)

Terra Brockman is the director of The Land Connection Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to preserving farmland and promoting small-scale, diversified, organic agriculture in Illinois. Visit www.thelandconnection.org or call 309-965-2407 to learn how to get involved.

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