The French Salads We Promised You

And the greater promise of French salads

Parmesan, pancetta, olives, for an exquisitely simple salad by Patricia Wells.

ONE TRAP I’M DEFINITELY NOT GOING TO FALL INTO TODAY: going on and on with a stale comparison of French salads to French style. But only because it’s so obvious—and so accurate.

Look, here I go, anyway: We love French salads because they are elegant and seem effortless—almost …