Macédoine de Légumes — Diced Vegetable Salad

Ingredients

• 250 g carrots, peeled, cut to 5–8 mm dice
• 150 g turnips, peeled, cut to 5–8 mm dice
• 150 g haricots verts, topped, tailed, cut into 5 mm segments
• 100 g green peas, shelled; fresh or frozen
• Blanching water (per litre)
• 30 g fine salt, dissolved in boiling water
• For the mayonnaise dressing
• 60–80 g mayonnaise, per 500 g combined vegetables; fold gently
• For the vinaigrette dressing (alternative)
• 3 parts neutral oil, measured by volume against vinegar
• 1 part white wine vinegar, measured by volume against oil
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard, emulsifier; whisked in before oil
• Seasonal enrichments (optional)
• as needed asparagus tips, blanched separately to tenderness
• as needed artichoke bottoms, cooked, cut to matching dice
• as needed beetroot, cooked, diced; added at the last moment only

Method

1. 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. 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.
3. 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. 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.
5. 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. 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.