Chef Juliette
Mayonnaise de Volaille
Cold roast chicken, ciseled lettuce, and a shining coat of homemade mayonnaise, arranged with capers, olives, anchovies, eggs, and lettuce hearts, then tossed at the table as the canon intends.
Culinary Explorer
A cooking platform built around craft, culture, and the stories behind what we eat.
Cucumber Salad
Created by Chef Juliette
Based on No. 1991, Cucumber Salad, from Le Guide Culinaire (1907) by Auguste Escoffier
Concombres en salade teaches the discipline of drawing out water before dressing: two patient hours with salt, then oil, vinegar, and chervil cling brightly to every cool, crisp slice.
Salads
French
Weeknight
Quick Meal
Picnic
15 min
Active Time
0 min cook•2 hr 15 min total
Yield4 servings
Concombres en salade (cucumber salad) teaches one severe little truth: cucumber is mostly water. Dress it straight from the knife and that water escapes into the bowl, thinning the oil and vinegar to nothing. Dégorger, to draw out water with salt, is what gives these delicate slices their concentrated flavor and supple crunch.
The original entry assumed no saucier, stockpot, or salamander. It assumed something quieter: a brigade cook who could salt a tray by feel, leave it undisturbed for two hours, and reach for clean cloths when service approached. The home equivalent is a colander, two towels, and measured quantities for four servings. The flavorings and sequence remain untouched. One cook, one stove, one evening, though the stove gets this one off.
The colander and towels are scaffolding. The full two-hour salting is the dish and must stay. Dry every slice thoroughly before the oil touches it; if moisture remains, another clean towel and ten patient minutes will rescue the work.
Concombres en salade belongs to the French bourgeois table and the Parisian classical repertoire of hors-d'oeuvre, rather than to one province with a protected local formula. Classical manuals codified a household practice that moved easily into bistros and formal dining rooms: peel, slice, dégorger, dry, then season at the last moment. Salting is often mistaken for seasoning alone, but its purpose here is structural, removing enough cucumber water that the oil and wine vinegar remain distinct and bright.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
English cucumbers
Quantity
2 medium (about 1½ lb / 700 g)
peeled and sliced 2 mm thick
fine table salt
Quantity
2 teaspoons (10 ml / 12 g)
mild salad oil
Quantity
3 tablespoons (45 ml / 41 g)
white wine vinegar
Quantity
1 tablespoon (15 ml / 15 g)
fresh chervil leaves
Quantity
2 tablespoons (30 ml / 5 g)
finely chopped at the last moment
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| English cucumberspeeled and sliced 2 mm thick | 2 medium (about 1½ lb / 700 g) |
| fine table salt | 2 teaspoons (10 ml / 12 g) |
| mild salad oil | 3 tablespoons (45 ml / 41 g) |
| white wine vinegar | 1 tablespoon (15 ml / 15 g) |
| fresh chervil leavesfinely chopped at the last moment | 2 tablespoons (30 ml / 5 g) |
Equipment Needed
- •Mandoline with hand guard or sharp chef's knife
- •Large colander set over a bowl of at least 2-quart / 2-liter capacity
- •Two large clean, lint-free kitchen towels
Instructions
- 1
Peel and slice
Peel the cucumbers completely, as the source directs. Slice them crosswise about 2 mm thick with a mandoline or sharp knife, keeping the rounds even so they dégorger at the same rate. Use the mandoline guard from the first slice, not when your fingers are already near the blade.
Evenness matters more than thinness. Thick and thin slices salted together leave some watery while others soften too far. - 2
Salt for two hours
Set a large colander over a bowl. Add the cucumber slices in three loose layers, scattering some of the table salt over each, then toss gently until the salt is evenly distributed. Refrigerate for two full hours while the liquid drains below. Do not shorten this rest. It is not brigade waiting that can be cut away; it is the technique that keeps the finished dressing from disappearing into cucumber water.
- 3
Drain and dry
Let the slices drain for five minutes, then spread them over a clean, lint-free towel. Cover with a second towel and press firmly but gently, changing to a dry section until no beads of moisture remain. Do not rinse unless a test slice tastes sharply salty. If it does, give the batch one swift rinse under very cold water and dry it twice as thoroughly. Ça se rattrape.
- 4
Dress in sequence
Hold back a small spoonful of the measured oil and a few drops of vinegar in the same three-to-one proportion. Put the cucumbers in a completely dry bowl, add the remaining oil first, and toss until every slice carries a light sheen. Add the remaining vinegar, toss again, then fold through the chopped chervil. If liquid pools within a minute, lift the slices out, blot them once more, empty and dry the bowl, then return them with the reserved oil and vinegar. The slices should glisten, not swim.
- 5
Serve while bright
Transfer the salad to a shallow chilled bowl, letting the slices fall into loose folds rather than compressing them. Serve at once, while the vinegar is lively and the chervil still smells fresh. À table!
Chef Tips
- •Choose cucumbers that feel heavy, taut, and dense from end to end. A tired cucumber cannot be salted back into crispness; it belongs in a cooked soup, not this salad.
- •Use fine table salt and trust the weight if your spoons vary. Coarse salts occupy more space, so an equal spoonful may not draw out enough water during the fixed two-hour rest.
- •Fresh chervil is quiet, lightly anise-scented, and essential to this particular entry. Dried chervil has little to offer, while parsley changes the flavor rather than replacing it.
- •For a picnic, carry the dried cucumber, dressing, and chopped chervil separately in the cold, then toss them just before eating. A chilled dry white wine suits it, but cold water and good bread need no defense.
Advance Preparation
- •Begin at least 2 hours 15 minutes before serving so the cucumbers receive their full salting time.
- •Once salted and thoroughly dried, the cucumber slices can be folded into a clean towel and refrigerated in a sealed container for up to 4 hours. Blot them again if they release more moisture, then add the oil, vinegar, and chervil only before serving.
- •For transport, keep the dried cucumbers chilled and pack the measured oil, vinegar, and chervil separately. Dress the salad at the picnic table so it arrives crisp rather than swimming.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 160g)
Calories
115 calories
Total Fat
11 g
Saturated Fat
2 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
9 g
Cholesterol
0 mg
Sodium
1050 mg
Total Carbohydrates
4 g
Dietary Fiber
1 g
Sugars
2 g
Protein
1 g
Where cooking meets culture.
Culinary guides, cultural storytelling, and the editorial depth that makes cooking meaningful.
Discover Culinary ExplorerMore from Roasts and Salads - Salads
Browse the full collection
Chef Juliette
Chicken Salad
Cold roast or poached chicken with fine ribbons of lettuce, dressed at the final moment with oil and vinegar: a composed salad whose freshness depends entirely on timing.
Chef Juliette
Simple Salads
Five leaves, one living rule: laitue, romaine, chicorée, mâche, or pissenlit must be washed, dried, and dressed only as they go to the table, while every leaf still carries its light vinaigrette.
Chef Juliette
Salads de Betterave (Beetroot Salad)
Salade de Betteraves proves that baking, not boiling, is the whole argument: concentrated garnet sweetness, tender baked onion, sharp mustard, and herbs cut into a weeknight salad worth making ahead.