French Side Dish: Julienne de Légumes (Julienne Vegetables)

Today, we’re featuring a simple French side dish recipe — the julienne de légumes (julienne vegetables).   The julienne de légumes is basically a beautiful display of simmered vegetable sliced in thin sticks. This delicious healthy dish is a great companion to any seafood (excellent with grilled scallops) but can also pair well with chicken and pork.  Check our detailed recipe and Art of the Home suggestions below.  Enjoy and bon appétit!

Julienne de Légumes (Julienne Vegetables)

by Art of the Home
Ingredients (for 2- 3 servings)

• 2 big carrots
• 1 leek, the white part only
• 1 zucchini
• 1 white turnip
• 1-2 TBSP olive oil (or butter)
• Salt & pepper

Directions

1. Wash and peel carrots and turnip.
2. Cut both ends of the zucchini.  Wash (keep the skin).
3. Cut out the green part of the leek (you can save it to make a potage de légumes later) and wash  the white part.
4. Julienne your vegetable — cutting them into small 1-1.5 inches long and very thin sticks (2 mm or 1/16 inch).  For the carrots, zucchini, and turnip, we use a julienne peeler but you can also use a mandoline slicer, julienne slicer attachment to your food processor if available, or do it with a chef knife.  To julienne leeks however, we do it by hand (the leeks tend to shred instead slicing neatly with a julienne peeler).  Separate the leek leaves and stack them up.  Cut them in 1-1.5 inches sections and then slice each section in thin sticks.
5. Heat olive oil in an enameled cast-iron pot or deep frying pan (it should have a lid — it will be needed for simmering your julienne).
6. Put all vegetables in the pot and simmer, covered, under low heat for 20-30 minutes (depending on how crunchy you want the vegetables to be).  Stir from time to time and add a bit of olive oil if needed.  Salt & pepper to taste.
7. To serve: place the julienne de légumes on individual plates and lay the accompanying fish on top of your bed of julienne de légumes.

Art of the Home Suggestions:

1. Make it ahead of time: a julienne de légumes can be prepared ahead — making it a very practical recipe.
2. Double up:  double the quantities of the above recipe and it will feed a family of four and you can enjoy some leftovers for the following day.