Last week after a long day at work, I requested an Uber to go home. In bigger cities, you can do what’s called Uber Pool – you share the ride with up to 2 other passengers, and you may end up being dropped off last (which is always the case with me). That being said, it’s cheaper than a standard Uber ride, and I didn’t want to sit on the bus for an hour. Laziness won that round. Tout ça pour dire (All of that just to say) that in that ride, I was reminded of a delicious summertime salad from France that I haven’t eaten in about 2 years. Not sure what I’ve been waiting for.

After I requested my ride, a man named Metty drove up, and I hopped in. After a bit of small talk and a failure to pinpoint where he was from based on his accent, I asked him. La Macédoine (Macedonia). I loved hearing about where he was from and what brought him to San Francisco, but once we picked up passenger #2, the conversation shifted. Not long after, passenger #3 came in, and they decided to guess where Metty was from.

I obviously couldn’t guess along with them because I knew the answer, but Metty started giving them clues. He eventually looked at me as if I could give a clue to them. I really don’t know much about his country besides the fact that it was the birthplace of Alexandre le Grand (Alexander the Great), but that would cut the game short. Since geography and flag clues had been given, I was stuck. I ended up saying, “It’s the French name for mixed vegetables, and it’s also a delicious creamy salad.” Silence. Oh well, I tried.

La macédoine is a vegetable mix – generally peas, carrots, potatoes, flageolet beans, and turnips. This mixture can be purchased en boîte (in a can) or surgelé (frozen), or you can buy fresh vegetables yourself. You can put them in a soup or serve them as a side dish, but my favorite way to eat it is in a delicious salad.

So what is this ambrosia of the gods I’m talking about? Une salade macédoine de légumes is this mix of vegetables with a mayonnaise/mustard/vinegar sauce. I used to have this at least once a week when I lived in Avignon. I lived right by a Carrefour City, and I would swing by on the way home and get une barquette (a container). So good. The dish itself wasn’t expensive – I think it was 1€50 – but it was something I could have easily made myself.

Below I’ve reproduced a basic recipe of the salad, but don’t hesitate to be creative with it! I also love chopped surimi and shrimp in it. Mmmm.

Les ingrédients :

1 boite de macédoine
(OU 1 carotte, 125g de petits pois surgelés, 1 pomme de terre, 1 petite boîte de flagolets verts, ½ navet)
3 œufs durs
2 cuillères à soupe de mayonnaise
Quelques gouttes de vinaigre
Quelques gouttes de moutarde
sel et poivre

Si vous utilisez une boîte, égoutter bien les légumes et commencer par étape 5

1. Éplucher les légumes et les couper en petits dés.
2. Dans de l’eau bouillante, ajouter les carottes, le navet, les petits pois, et les flagolets.
3. Mettre les pommes de terre dans une casserole d’eau froide et faire cuire.
4. Couper les œufs durs.
5. Égoutter les légumes et les poser sur un plat creux avec les œufs.
6. Ajouter de la mayonnaise, du vinaigre et de la moutarde.
7. Saler et poivrer les légumes.
8. Mélangez bien et servir frais.

Ingredients:

1 can of mixed vegetables
(OR 1 carrot, ½ a cup of frozen peans, 1 potato, 1 can of flageolet beans, ½ of a turnip)
3 hardboiled eggs
2 tablespoons of mayonnaise
A few drops of vinegar
A few drops of mustard
Salt and pepper

If you’re using canned vegetables, rise them and start at step 5:

1. Peel the vegetables and cut them into small cubes.
2. Add the carrots, turnip, peas, and beans into a pan of boiling water.
3. Add the potatoes in cold water and heat it till cooked.
4. Slice the hardboiled eggs.
5. Rinse the vegetables and place them and the eggs in a serving dish.
6. Add the mayonnaise, vinegar, and mustard.
7. Salt and pepper dish to taste.
8. Mix well and serve cold.

Bon appétit !