The Hospitality Guru (cooking) Back to Basics: Simple Salads

SOME SIMPLE SALADS

Apple Salad

Cut peeled apples into quarters, remove the core, and slice very thin. Mix with salad dressing and sugar. Serve on crisp lettuce and sprinkle with chopped walnuts. This salad is excellent with roast poultry, game, pork and with cold dishes.

Asparagus

Arrange cooked asparagus spears in a salad bowl. Coat with a salad dressing or with a thin mayonnaise without covering the tips. Sprinkle with chopped parsley.

Avocado salad

Serve slices of avocado on crisp lettuce with a cream or Roquefort dressing.

Beet Salad

Wash whole beets and boil in water. Peel immediately and put back into the water until cold. Heat equal quantities of white vinegar and red wine to the boiling point with a studded onion (bay leaf and clove), and a little salt and sugar.

Place the cooled beets in a bowl and cover with the hot vinegar and red wine mixture. A small amount of oil may be added if desired. Cover and refrigerate. These beets can be kept for long periods of time. Cut into slices of julienne before servicing.

Canned sliced or julienne beets may be used.

Breton salad

Sauté chopped onion and diced bacon in oil, add soaked navy beans, cover with stock, and cook until tender. Mix with oil and vinegar and season to taste.

This salad is a good accompaniment with sausages, and should always be served luke warm.

Carrot salad

Slice peeled and cooked carrots. Mix sith salt, pepper, finely chopped onion, and a spicy salad dressing. Sprinkle with parsley or chives before serving.

Cauliflower salad.

Cut cooked cauliflower into florets. Arrange the florets in a single layer on the bottom of a salad bowl, cover lightly with thin mayonnaise, add a second layer of cauliflower and mayonnaise, and sprinkle with parsley.

Celery salad

Wash celery stalks, boil in salted water, cool, and drain. Cut the roots into uniform slices and the stalks into lengths of 3.5 to 6cm, and arrange in bowls. Cover with salad dressing and sprinkle with chopped parsley.

Raw Celery Salad

Wash celery, peel, and cut into julienne. Mix with a thin, spicy mayonnaise, and sprinkle with chopped parsley and lemon juice.

Corn salad

Dress corn salad with salt, pepper, vinegar, and oil. Thick salad dressings are not suitable for this salad. Chopped hard-cooked eggs can be added, if desired.

Cucumber Salad

Cut peeled cucumbers lengthwise into two halves and remove the seeds. Cut the cucumber into thin slices, mix with some salt, place in a bowl, and press for at least 2 hours using a plate with a suitable weight on top. Drain the juice, add the salad dressing to the cucumbers, and sprinkle with parsley.

The cucumber may be mixed with the salad dressing without being pressed.

Elizabeth Salad

Pour lemon juice, seasoning, and fresh cream over lettuce.

Endive Salad

Wash the endive, cut into strips or fine slices, wash again, and serve with a think mayonnaise sauce. Thin slices of apple or mandarin can be added to the endive. The salad may be garnished with walnuts.

Green salad

Clean the lettuce leaves carefully, tear the large leaves, and remove any tough ribs. Break chicory and endive into strips. Wash the greens thoroughly, drain, and dry on a cloth. Toss the salad just before serving with vinaigrette dressing.

Mushroom salad

Cut 500 grams of washed mushrooms into fine slices and immediately mix in lemon juice, salt and pepper. Then add 50 grams of chopped onion, a finely chopped garlic clove, oil and vinegar. Sprinkle with parsley and garnish with tomato slices.

String Bean Salad

Remove the strings from fresh beans, blanch, cool and drain. Cut the beans into 5 cm lengths and mix with salad dressing.