Arley, I can't help with the salad other than saying terroir has a lot to do with the flavors of the Mediterranean, so it might actually be the water and the soil that make the lettuce special. Another thing is that if the vinaigrette used olive oil: Spanish EVOO has a much different flavor from Italian, and an estate bottled Spanish (should be available at any store that has a foodie following), so that the flavor isn't muddled, can make an extraordinary difference. On such a simple salad, the flavor that is not the anchovies will be carried and brightened by the oil. From what I've read, they also have local olives in the Pyrénées-Orientales. I don't know how hard or easy it would be to get their oil, but it might be the secret ingredient.

It sounds like you had a great trip! I hope you'll share more of what your saw (and ate).

I have noticed great variations in the flavors of various vinegars, and this may have had an effect on the flavor of the salad. I often use a combination of vinegars when making vinaigrette to get just the flavor that I want and to balance the sweetness and tartness that they have.

Lettuce (and tomatoes) definitely vary in flavor based on the soil where they are grown as mentioned above. Also, the amount of sun it receives has an influence, which is why it will taste different at different times of the year.

I hope you took lots of photos!

Good points, Lars. I'm still frustrated by not being able to upload my photos; will try again later and maybe the Houzz gods will let me.

Make sure the photo is not too large. I love salad so I really want to see the picture!

I saw something the other day that said that there was a problem with uploading photos in IE but not Firefox. Perhaps upload to an online server and then post it?

I am jealous beyond comprehension. What a great, beautiful trip! Good for you!

My experience with eating in southern Spain is you could die for want of some green leaves....ask for a salad and you get potato salad...or a cooked veggie salad....leafy greens lightly dressed with oil and vinegar was heaven when we found it.
My guess is ti tasted so delicious because your body needed something green andr aw.

What's that bubbley cheesy stuff in the dish??

Your holiday sounds fabulous. I've always wanted to eat tapas and drink sherry!

Collioure is a place in the south west of France that is famous for its anchovies. There isn't A recipe - any seasonal veggies that you have will do - from lettuce, roquette, baby spinach.... tomatoes, peppers or not, tuna as well as anchovies or not, asparagus, some people even add melon..... it's the anchovies that make it "Collioure".

Banyuls is close by and famous for vinegar so perhaps that would help with an authentic flavour. http://levinaigre.com

Really good anchovies are needed. Also good, is toasted bread, rubbed with a garlic clove and topped with these anchovies as a nibble with your apéritif.

There seem to be 2 "good" suppliers of preserved anchovies - http://www.anchoisdesclaux.com/epages/box9106.mobile/?ObjectPath=/Shops/box9106

and

http://anchois-roque.fr

Thanks for the info, Islay. You're right; these anchovies were better than the average item out of a can. At some restaurants they bragged about having 'artisanal' anchovies.

Linda, that was my wife's lunch, not related to the salad; some pasta and cheese dish.

You're welcome. Here's a map of olive producers in France if you're interested. France is a small roducer compared to other med. countries.

http://afidol.org/repertoire/adresses/map/mou

Yum that does look good ! I am sure I had that salad when we were in Bordeaux but I didn't recall the name. Thanks

I loved the salads when we were in France. So interesting compared to salads here. Salad Nicoise was one of my favourites but any variation was always delicious with anchovies being a must !

Thanks Islay, for the tip on the vinegar. I'll look for it in specialty food shops

Islay, I can get a couple of Provencal olive oils here--James Plagniol and Hillaire Fabre. Both are delicious, but unfortunately cost about 3 times as much as other olive oils--but for a special salad they're worth it.

How is that pronounced Islay? Banyuls. I'm sure i have it wrong but some things just stick... bay-yools, ? lol.

It has been my preferred for years for certain simple salads with fresh salad greens from the garden. I even choose it over balsamic to perk up winter tomatoes...just a tsp with a tsp of good olive oil to marinate a few minutes.

I don't like too much dressing...just a quick toss and massage.

Another quick dressing is a mustard, lemon, braggs ac vinegar. (not waisting Banyuls with something assertive like mustard or horseradish).

You can buy Banyuls vinegar on line, and that may help you recreate the salad. Amazon also sells it.

sleeve, it's just ban-yools. (you do pronouonce the s at the end).

I ordered some of the Banyuls vinegar from the link I posted (and received it last week), and while it is very good, it is not that much different from other wine vinegars that I have, including some that I bought in Paso Robles. It certainly does not compare to Italian Balsamic vinegar - at least not to the ones I have.

It is not at all sweet - it has the acidic taste of cider vinegar, but should work very well in salads and marinades. I do not detect any licorice flavors in it, but I am happy that I do not, as Kevin does not like licorice or anise. I am also unaware that beeswax has an aroma, but then I get very confused when I go wine tasting and am told to expect a lot of flavors that do not even seem like flavors.

It's a good vinegar, but does not seem at all unique to me. I'll have to taste it again and see if I can detect any more flavors.