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Macédoine de Légumes — Diced Vegetable Salad

Macédoine de légumes is a precision knife-work exercise and garde manger staple that showcases the cook's command of uniform small dice—each vegetable cut to exactly 5mm x 5mm x 5mm brunoise-scale cubes, though classical macédoine permits up to 8mm dice in less formal presentations. The standard composition includes carrots (Daucus carota subsp. sativus), turnips (Brassica rapa subsp. rapa), French beans or haricots verts (Phaseolus vulgaris) cut into 5mm segments, and green peas (Pisum sativum). Each vegetable is blanched separately in heavily salted boiling water (30g salt per liter) to its precise point of tenderness: carrots for 4-5 minutes, turnips for 2-3 minutes, haricots verts for 2 minutes, and peas for 60-90 seconds. Separate blanching is essential because each vegetable possesses distinct cell wall compositions requiring different thermal exposures for optimal pectin softening—combining them in one pot guarantees that at least two components will be improperly cooked. Immediately after blanching, each vegetable is shocked in ice water at 0-2°C (32-36°F) to halt carryover cooking and fix chlorophyll in green vegetables. After thorough draining on clean towels, the vegetables are combined and dressed. The cold version (macédoine à la mayonnaise) binds with 60-80g mayonnaise per 500g of vegetables, folded gently to avoid crushing the dice. The vinaigrette version uses a 3:1 ratio of neutral oil to white wine vinegar with Dijon mustard emulsifier. Both versions benefit from 1 hour of refrigerated resting at 4°C (39°F) before service. Asparagus tips (Asparagus officinalis), diced beetroot (Beta vulgaris), and artichoke bottoms (Cynara cardunculus) appear as seasonal enrichments, with beetroot always added at the last moment to prevent color bleeding from betalain pigments migrating through the dressing.

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ServesFour portions
Sourced2of 12 in BC
Cook
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I

The Market List

The benchmark for each ingredient, and who stocks it near you. Tap a stockist to go straight to the product.

250 g
carrots
peeled, cut to 5–8 mm dice
Your own market
150 g
turnips
peeled, cut to 5–8 mm dice
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
150 g
haricots verts
topped, tailed, cut into 5 mm segments
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
100 g
green peas
shelled; fresh or frozen
Origin · New ZealandPurely Artisan Foods · San Diego →
Blanching water (per litre)
30 g
fine salt
dissolved in boiling water
Your own market
For the mayonnaise dressing
60–80 g
mayonnaise
per 500 g combined vegetables; fold gently
Your own market
For the vinaigrette dressing (alternative)
3 parts
neutral oil
measured by volume against vinegar
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
1 part
white wine vinegar
measured by volume against oil
Your own market
1 tsp
Dijon mustard
emulsifier; whisked in before oil
Your own market
Seasonal enrichments (optional)
as needed
asparagus tips
blanched separately to tenderness
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
as needed
artichoke bottoms
cooked, cut to matching dice
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
as needed
beetroot
cooked, diced; added at the last moment only
Origin · New ZealandPurely Artisan Foods · San Diego →

Each tap is counted, so the stockist sees the demand Provenance sends them.

II

The Method

1
Cut all vegetables — carrots, turnips, and any optional enrichments — to exactly 5 mm × 5 mm × 5 mm dice; cut haricots verts into 5 mm segments. Irregularity in cut size causes uneven cooking and an unprofessional presentation. The dice should be uniform enough that no single piece is visually distinguishable from its neighbours by size.
2
Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil. Dissolve 30 g of salt per litre. Blanch each vegetable separately and in sequence: carrots for 4–5 minutes, turnips for 2–3 minutes, haricots verts for 2 minutes, peas for 60–90 seconds. This is where the dish lives or dies: each vegetable possesses a distinct cell wall composition requiring its own thermal exposure for correct pectin softening — blanching them together guarantees that at least two components will be improperly cooked. Season each batch again after shocking. Each vegetable is done when it yields to the tooth with no raw resistance yet holds its shape without collapsing.
From the canon — Blanching is the technique of plunging ingredients into heavily salted boiling water, then transferring them immediately into ice water to halt cooking — a t… Blanching — The Ten-Second Reset →
3
As each batch finishes, transfer it immediately to ice water held at 0–2 °C to halt carryover cooking and fix chlorophyll in the green vegetables. Hold each vegetable in the ice bath until thoroughly cold to the touch at the centre.
4
Drain each vegetable thoroughly and spread on clean towels. Blot dry. The surface of each piece should feel dry, not slick — residual water will dilute the dressing and break the mayonnaise emulsion.
From the canon — Mayonnaise is a stable oil-in-water emulsion in which fine droplets of oil are dispersed within a water phase composed of egg yolk, acid (lemon juice or vine… Mayonnaise — Hand Method and Emulsion Science →
5
Combine the dried vegetables in a bowl. For the mayonnaise version, add 60–80 g of mayonnaise per 500 g of vegetables and fold gently so as not to crush the dice. For the vinaigrette version, whisk Dijon mustard into the white wine vinegar, then stream in neutral oil at a 3:1 oil-to-vinegar ratio to form an emulsion, and fold through the vegetables. The dressing should coat each piece lightly and evenly without pooling at the base of the bowl.
6
Refrigerate the dressed macédoine at 4 °C for 1 hour before service. If beetroot is included, dice it to the same dimension and fold it in at the last possible moment — betalain pigments migrate rapidly through the dressing, staining the entire preparation pink if added in advance. At service the macédoine should be cold, cohesive, and free of any pink staining on the other vegetables.
III

Quality Hierarchy

01
Reserve — Garden-fresh, same-day-harvested young carrots, baby turnips, finger-thin haricots verts, and freshly podded peas of a sweet variety — cut to strict 5 mm dice; dressed with a hand-made mayonnaise of fine olive oil and free-range egg yolk.
02
Estate — Market-sourced seasonal vegetables of known provenance, uniform in variety; dice at 5–8 mm; dressed with a careful commercial mayonnaise or a well-emulsified house vinaigrette.
03
Market — Good-quality supermarket carrots, turnips, haricots verts, and frozen peas; dice held to 8 mm maximum; dressed with a reliable commercial mayonnaise at the correct 60–80 g per 500 g ratio.
04
House — Standard mixed vegetables, diced to the best uniformity achievable; a basic neutral-oil vinaigrette; served without seasonal enrichments — still correct if each vegetable is blanched separately and shocked promptly.
IV

Sensory Tests

◇Sight. All dice are visually identical in size; no piece stands out as larger or smaller than its neighbours.
◇Touch. Each blanched and shocked vegetable yields to gentle pressure between two fingers — yielding but not collapsing, with no raw firmness at the centre.
◇Touch. After draining and blotting, the surface of each diced piece feels dry rather than slick or wet.
◇Sight. The dressed macédoine holds its shape in the bowl; the dressing coats each piece evenly with no pool of excess liquid or mayonnaise at the base.
◇Sight. If beetroot is included, no pink staining appears on the other vegetables — a clear sign it was added at the correct, final moment.
◇Where it lives or dies. Each vegetable must be blanched separately in 30 g/L salted water to its own precise time; combining them in one pot guarantees uneven doneness across every component.
Pillar V
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VI

What to Pour

The pairing
Bollinger Special Cuvée
Bollinger · Montagne de Reims
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
Sparkling wine
From British Columbia
Fort Berens Riesling
Fort Berens Estate Winery · Lillooet
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
Wine
Without alcohol
GT's Synergy Organic Kombucha — Gingerade
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
Non-alcoholic

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The whole pairing
Pillar VII
Origin and lineage are part of membership.
Where the dish comes from and how it came to be — on every recipe.
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Sourced through Provenance

The hands behind the plate.

Purely Artisan Foods
San Diego · green peas, beetroot
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