Julia Child’s Easy Salad Upgrade Is a Game Changer

I am fully in the Elaine salad camp. If you’re not familiar, Elaine Benes, Julia Louis Dreyfus’ character on the TV show Seinfeld, always ordered “a salad with lots of stuff on it” at her pals' go-to diner. I’m with Elaine: A big pile of lettuce leaves me cold, but top it with interesting things, and I’ll demolish it in no time. 

One of my favorite salad toppings comes from none other than Julia Child. In her 1961 The French Chef Cookbook, she provides a genius recipe for Salade Mimosa that’s been a game changer for me. All you need are hard-boiled eggs and whatever fresh herbs you have on hand.

How Do You Make Salade Mimosa? 

Not to be confused with the orange juice-and-sparkling wine cocktail, the name mimosa in French cuisine indicates the presence of hard-boiled eggs, often pushed through a sieve or strainer so that it's very fine. The name comes from its similarity to the tiny yellow flowers of acacia trees that bloom in spring. 

The salad itself is incredibly simple—it's just a head of Boston or mixed lettuces tossed with French-style vinaigrette. Sprinkling the greens with the delicate egg, mixed with a few tablespoons of fresh chopped herbs, is what makes the salad so special. 

While I love Julia’s minimalist take on this salad, I don’t reserve the mimosa trick just for greens. The herby egg topping is incredible on top of asparagus, braised leeks, and potato salad. Pretty much anywhere you might put hard-boiled eggs, these mimosa-style ones will shine. 

Tips for Making Salade Mimosa

To make perfect hard-boiled eggs for this application, you’ll need to cook them to medium-hard, with a solid, crumbly yolk. To accomplish this, it’s best to bring the eggs to a boil, turn off the heat, cover the pot, and let them sit in the hot water for 10 to 12 minutes. Afterwards, transfer them to a bowl of ice water to cool.

To peel the eggs, I also borrow from Julia’s playbook and poke a hole in the eggshell before boiling. Then, I let the eggs cool for an hour in ice water in the fridge. This step helps the shells come away cleanly.  

If you don’t have a fine-mesh sieve, you can also push the hard-cooked egg through a tea strainer, the small holes of a box grater, or even a colander, though in the latter, the egg won’t be feather-light. Speaking of light, the egg is very delicate once pushed through the sieve, so it's important to be gentle when tossing it with the herbs (using a fork is best).

Julia is vague on which particular herbs to use for mimosa, but I tend to keep them on the mild and tender side of things—I love tarragon, chives, scallion greens, or parsley. I’ve found that more assertive herbs like rosemary, sage, and thyme can be overpowering. Whichever herbs you decide to use, I'm confident this eggy salad topper would be Elaine Benes-approved.