There are only 15 Maîtres Cuisiniers de France in New York City. Chef Claude Godard is one of the few to hold this title. Master Chefs of France are tasked with “preserving and spreading the French culinary arts, encouraging training in cuisine, and assisting professional development”. Chef Godard does this at both his NYC restaurants, Madison Bistro which has been a New York classic for 20 years, and Jeanne & Gaston which has quickly become a local favorite. As part of our Summer Recipe series, we asked Chef Godard for one of his favorites. He tell us “I love the fennel salad seasoned with orange vinaigrette. It is very refreshing and goes very well with mussels.” I think you’ll have a blast making this at home.
Claude Godard’s Prince Edward Island Mussel and Fennel Salad
Ingredients
- 1 lb of PEI Mussel
- 1 shallots
- 1 Orange
- 1 large fennel
- ½ bunch of dill
- 2 Orange juice
- 1 Lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon of real Dijon mustard
- 3 oz Olive oil
- Salt & Pepper
Method:
- Slice the shallot.
- Wash and steam the Mussels and let them cool down.
- Prepare the vinaigrette with mustard, lemon and orange juices, olive oil, salt and pepper.
- Peel and wash the fennel.
- With a Japanese mandolin, slice very thin the fennel.
- Clean the dill and slice it thin.
- Peel the remaining orange and cut in to segments.
- In a salad bowl mix 2/3 of the vinaigrette with the fennel, the dill, the shallot and orange segments then correct seasoning.
- Peel the mussels and display on each plate.
- Place some fennel salad in the center.
- Finish by spreading the remaining vinaigrette on top of the mussels.
- Serve it chilled.
Madison Bistro is located at 238 Madison Avenue near Grand Central Station, The New York Public Library, and Bryant Park.
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Jeanne & Gaston is located at 212 West 14th Street in New York’s West Village a few blocks away from the Highline.