La ensalada verde favorita de Samin Nosrat depende de un ingrediente poco común: el agua
Samin Nosrat, autora del libro «Sal, grasa, ácido, calor», quedó cautivada por una ensalada verde del restaurante italiano Via Carota, en Nueva York.
The salad in question is simple, but it uses water in an unusual way. According to Via Carota's menu, it's "mixed greens with a sherry vinaigrette." Nosrat, who shared the recipe with The New York Times, says it includes five types of lettuce and a dressing made with shallots, sherry vinegar, olive oil, mustard seeds, thyme, honey, and other ingredients.
The water serves two purposes: it's used to rinse the chopped shallots and to dilute the vinaigrette. Cooling the shallots in this way preserves their intense flavor and prevents them from becoming too acidic, which could mask the delicate nature of the lettuce, Nosrat writes.
Warm water also dilutes the strong vinegar flavor in the vinaigrette. Jody Williams, co-owner of Via Carota, told Nosrat, "We want a salad dressing so flavorful and delicious that you can eat it by the spoonful. We want you to be able to drink it."
The same ideas apply to other dressings. Shallots can be prepared in different ways: soaked in vinegar they become pickled, with a tangy and spicy flavor, while soaked in water they retain a more pronounced onion flavor. Water also dilutes other intense flavors, such as lemon juice or red wine.