Julienne is the French term for vegetables cut in long thing strips, like a match stick. Mastering the method of julienning vegetables will not only improve your presentation, it will even ensure more even consistent cooking.
To julienne a carrot, trim the top. Cut the carrot into two-inch length. Trim the rounded sides of each piece, so that a rectangle is created. Cut each rectangle lengthwise into one eighth-inch slices. Stack several of the slices together and cut lengthwise again creating think batons called julienne. Continue with the reaming carrot pieces. This cut also works well to make potato or zucchini sticks. To mince, stack the julienne sticks together and cut across.
To julienne a pepper, with your knife remove the stem and then the bottom section, reserve for another use. Slice the pepper lengthwise, flatten, and remove the ribs with the tip of your knife. Cut the pepper into thin julienne strips.
Chiffonade is a similar technique in which herbs or leafy green vegetables like spinach or basil are cut into long thin strips. This is generally accomplished by stacking leaves, rolling them tightly then cutting across the rolled leaves with a sharp knife producing very thin strips. Start with large, unbruised basil leaves. Wash and dry them thoroughly and then stack them together like sheets of paper. Gently roll up one stack into a kind of loose cigar shape. Slice across the roll to make very thin julienne or chiffonade.
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