Boeuf Bouilli Froid a la Parisienne

An attractive and tempting way to serve cold beef, Boeuf Bouilli Froid a la Pari-sienne (berf bwee-yee fvvahd ah lah pah-reeze-yen) is accompanied by a variety of cold vegetables in season and decorated with onion rings. The dish is then sprinkled with vinaigrette dressing.

1 lb. cold boiled beef, cut into thin slices medium-sized cold boiled potatoes, thinly sliced

1 lb. cold, cooked French beans hard-boiled eggs, thinly sliced

1 small onion, thinly sliced and pushed out into rings

1 bunch watercress

2 tablespoons wine vinegar

6 tablespoons olive oil

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon black pepper

2 teaspoon prepared mustard

½ teaspoon dried tarragon

½ teaspoon dried basil

1 garlic clove, crushed

Arrange the beef slices overlapping each other on a long dish in one straight row. Arrange the cold, cooked vegetables and eggs in alternate order around the beef.

Decorate the meat with the onion rings. Put a sprig of watercress in the centre of each onion ring.

To make the vinaigrette dressing, put all the ingredients into a screw-top bottle. Shake vigorously until they are well mixed. Pour 6 to 8 tablespoons of the dressing, according to taste, over the vegetables surrounding the meat. Serve at once.