meclun : The mesclun (from the Provençal mesclum meaning mixture) is a mixed de shoots as well as leaves different plants vegetable gardens who is consume most often in s.
History of mesclun: Mesclun was invented by monks from the monastery of Cimiez of the Franciscan Fathers (*) to Nice. They would have mixed various seeds together, thus creating mesclun. The custom was to offer it to their benefactors and to the poor the plants which they split and which took it away in a espurtoula (sort of basket with handle, in rattan in the shape of an inverted capeline).
On July 10, 1924 Philippe Tiranty and Paul Gordeaux met in a famous restaurant in La Villette, decided to create in Paris, a center of Nice friendships, and to call it "Lou Mesclun" which became the association of Nice people in Paris. Gordeaux, always ready to help his compatriots in difficulty in the capital, was nicknamed "the Consul of Nice in Paris" Archives Nice-Matin. At that time, the name of "mesclun" was unknown to the public. You had to be an insider to know that the monks of Cimiez once gave it to a salad of their invention made of several species of plants, different in their flavor and scent, some sweet, others bitter, from their monastic vegetable garden. The whole was of an exquisite taste which made it sought after by gourmets. Today, mesclun salad is on the menu of gourmet restaurants.
(*) The monastery of Cimiez was founded in the XNUMXth century by the Benedictine monks, then rebuilt by the monks of the abbey of Saint-Pons, and it brings together the church of Notre-Dame-de-l'Assomption and the museum Franciscan which retraces Franciscan life in Nice since the XNUMXth century.
The mesclun is prepared, as desired, with lettuce, lamb's lettuce, arugula, chicory, radicchio, escarole, oak leaf, mustard leaf, to which can be added dandelion, baby spinach, purslane and aromatic plants. The mix of salads must include a minimum of five varieties to be entitled to the designation. The advantage of mesclun in the vegetable garden is that it is sown in a square and the fresh shoots are cut as they grow back, thus giving a permanently renewed harvest.
This mixture, slightly bitter, can be served just drizzled with a drizzle of olive oil, but also flavored with fine herbs and garlic.
Mesclun can also be used in the composition of many mixed salads, such as Niçoise salad or Caesar's salad.
Mesclun is sold in bulk at greengrocers and markets or packaged in ready-to-use sachets (in a protective atmosphere), in the fresh section of the supermarket. The brands offer blends that differ slightly. Care must be taken to ensure that the lettuce leaves are firm and crisp and that their outline is clean and not yellowed. Shoots should not be stuck together. The same selection criteria apply for choosing loose mesclun.
For some time now, there has been a less bitter version of mesclun on the market (without arugula or salad with too pronounced a bitterness) which was undoubtedly created in response to the attitude of the consumer to get rid of a less bitter salad at his taste.