Andrew Swallow - Mixt Salads: A Chefs Bold Creations

Some of the recipes in this book include raw eggs, meat, or fish. When these foods are consumed raw, there is always the risk that bacteria, which are killed by proper cooking, may be present. For this reason, when serving these foods raw, always buy certified salmonella-free eggs and the freshest meat and fish available from a reliable grocer, storing them in the refrigerator until they are served. Because of the health risks associated with the consumption of bacteria that can be present in raw eggs, meat, and fish, these foods should not be consumed by infants, small children, pregnant women, the elderly, or any persons who may be immunocompromised.

Copyright 2010 by Andrew Swallow
Photographs copyright 2010 by Sara Remington

All rights reserved.
Published in the United States by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group,
a division of Random House, Inc., New York.
www.crownpublishing.com
www.tenspeed.com

Ten Speed Press and the Ten Speed Press colophon are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc.

Eco-gourmet is a registered trademark of Mixt Greens.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file with the publisher.

eBook ISBN: 9781607745617
Hardcover ISBN: 9781580080576

Many thanks to our excellent photography team including Sara Remington, Nani Steele,
and Ethel Brennan.

v3.1

This is for you, momthanks for believing in me.

In the great city of San Francisco, home to the most obsessive foodies in the United States, Ive created salad junkies who are just as passionate as the original coffee junkies. Ill stop by any of my Mixt Greens restaurants in the middle of the afternoon and theres always a line out the door. It makes me feel good to see all those people eating those wonderful greens. One day a man walked up to me and said, I dont know how you did it, but youve even gotten men to eat salad all the time! Now, granted, theyre not eating prewashed greens thrown into a bowl and loaded up with some overly sugared dressing These are my kinds of salads: organic, hyper-fresh, deeply layered with flavors and textures, and totally, completely addictive.

Cooking with fine products and the conscious use of seasonal ingredients have been part of my cooking vocabulary for a long time, starting on the East Coast. After a stint at New Yorks Gramercy Tavern, I attended the Culinary Institute of America. While there, I studied Alice Waterss farm-to-table movement, which supported local, organic, and sustainable eating. I could hear California calling. New York is a food mecca, but it is more French influenced, while the farm-to-table chefs in California have more of a fusion-influenced cuisine that was exciting to me. And when I eventually came to San Francisco, I could see that the food economy was really driven by local artisans. Farmers deliver directly to restaurants here. The interaction is huge, and the community is highly aware of local, sustainable eating. Its Alice Waterss legacy in full force. So, after working in various restaurants, I was convinced this was the place I wanted to start my own restaurants. To be embraced by this highly evolvedand pickysuper-foodie community would be a great feeling, and the San Francisco equivalent of If you can make it here. A gig at Gary Danko ended up being the key step in becoming friendly with the city.

After all, part of the reason I created Mixt Greens was to give to this communityto deliver premium, good food in a fast-casual environment. To create fun, accessible fine dining thats not intimidating. And, in the process, to teach people how to eat in a sustainable way.

Along the way, Ive adopted habits that lower my personal environmental impact. Heres a rundown of some commonsense, sustainability basics for your kitchen: