Orange and Escarole Salad

A two-ingredient salad that depends entirely on how the oranges are cut and how cold the greens are. The only term likely to stop a modern cook is the dressing.

• French fruit dressingHere a made-at-home dressing rather than a reference to any specific bottled product. In books of this period the term generally covers a basic French dressing thinned and sweetened with fruit juice — commonly something in the region of 3 parts oil to 1 part lemon or orange juice, a little sugar or honey, salt, sometimes a spoon of the orange juice released while cutting. Keep it light; a heavy mustard-and-vinegar dressing fights the fruit.
• Cutting the oranges"Cut-up" is not specified further; the usual reading is peeled and sectioned, with as much white pith and membrane removed as patience allows, then the sections halved or broken into pieces. Pith is bitter and the membrane is tough against the crisp escarole. Work over a bowl and the juice can go into the dressing.
• EscaroleThe broad-leaved chicory still sold under that name, sometimes as Batavian endive. Use the pale inner leaves; the dark outer ones are markedly more bitter and coarse. Not the same as curly endive (frisée), though frisée will substitute.
• Equal quantitiesAlmost certainly meant loosely by volume rather than weight. Chopped escarole packs far lighter than orange, so equal volumes give a salad that eats as mostly greens with fruit through it.
• Keep it cold and lateDress at the table or within a minute or two of serving. Salted, acidified escarole wilts fast, and the orange keeps weeping juice that thins the dressing into a puddle. Chill the cut orange and the greens separately.
• The lettuce cupsButterhead or the cupped outer leaves of iceberg hold their shape best as a base. Chill them in cold water, then dry thoroughly — wet leaves dilute the dressing.
• YieldThe recipe gives no quantities. Four medium oranges with a comparable volume of chopped escarole will serve about six as a side salad.