Cellophane-Noodle Salad
Italian Sausage Salad
Herbed Noodle Salad
Salmon-Dill Salad with Pasta Shells
Orzo Salad
Leftover-Noodle Salad
Salade Niçoise with Pasta Shells
Macaroni Salad I
Macaroni Salad II
Piquant Salad
Codfish and Buckwheat-Noodle Salad
(with shrimp • crabmeat • scallops • or lobster)
Composed Salad
Cellophane noodles are bouncy and fun. They are made from powdered mung beans instead of wheat flour, and the Chinese consider them a vegetable instead of a starch. They’re thin and white and transparent, and you don’t cook them at all. You just soak them in hot water for about 1 hour, and they’re ready to use.
4 servings
4 ounces cellophane noodles
2½ cups diced poached chicken
½ cup finely chopped onion or scallions
¾ cup finely chopped celery
½ cup mayonnaise
½ cup yogurt
1 tablespoon soy sauce
½ teaspoon Tabasco
Chopped parsley
Cover the cellophane noodles with hot water and soak for 1 hour. Drain.
Combine all the ingredients in a bowl. Toss well, and serve on a bed of watercress, garnished with chopped parsley.
I adore all kinds of sausages; I’ve often said I could be happy eating nothing else. One of the simplest and best varieties is the coarsely ground Italian link sausage seasoned with garlic, basil, and anise. It’s available now in most supermarkets, but if you want a real treat, make your own Italian sausage. You’ll find a reliable recipe in The New James Beard. This salad is not a delicate nibble; it would make a wonderful picnic dish, with just a loaf of coarse bread and a really assertive red wine.
6 servings
6 Italian-style link sausages, sweet or hot
½ pound elbow macaroni or twists
4 green peppers, peeled and cut into strips
2 red onions, thinly sliced
2 cups canned kidney beans, drained
3 hard-boiled eggs, quartered
3 tablespoons chopped Italian parsley
⅔ cup olive oil
3 tablespoons wine vinegar
1 clove garlic, chopped
½ teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Pinch of oregano
To cook the sausages: Prick the skins with a fork, put them in a skillet with water to cover, bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and poach for 1 minute. Drain off the water, slice the sausages into ½-inch lengths, and fry over medium heat in a dry skillet until browned through.
Cook and drain the pasta.
Combine the sausage, peppers, onions, macaroni, kidney beans, eggs, and parsley in a bowl. In a second bowl combine the olive oil, vinegar, garlic, salt, pepper, and oregano. Beat vigorously with a fork and pour the dressing over the salad, tossing it gently as you do so. Let everything mature in the refrigerator for a few hours.
When I made this salad on a Saturday afternoon, it tasted sharp and oily. It went into the refrigerator until the next day, when I served it at lunch. By then, the noodles had soaked up every bit of oil and vinegar, and the taste was wonderfully improved. Be sure to allow at least 12 hours to let this happen. You’ll find that this is an unusually light and pleasant salad to serve as a first course, one that doesn’t ruin the appetite.
4 to 6 servings
8 ounces Japanese buckwheat noodles
4 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons sesame oil
2 tablespoons sesame-chili oil
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
⅔ cup finely chopped chives
½ cup chopped parsley
Cook and drain the pasta. Put the freshly drained noodles into a bowl with the olive oil, so that they won’t stick together as they cool. When they are cool, add the sesame oil, sesame-chili oil, and rice vinegar. Toss well with the chives and parsley, and let stand for at least 12 hours.
SALMON-DILL SALAD WITH PASTA SHELLS
Years ago, I used to make a smoked-salmon cocktail spread very much like this using lots of shallots and cream. I think that this version, with yogurt, is even better. The pasta soaks up and holds some of the wonderful shallot and salmon flavor.
6 servings
½ pound tiny shells or twists
¼ pound smoked salmon
¼ cup mayonnaise
¼ cup yogurt
3 tablespoons chopped shallots
Lots of finely chopped fresh dill
Cook and drain the pasta.
Cut the salmon into slivers. Then toss into a dressing made of mayonnaise, yogurt, shallots, and dill. Mix with the pasta, and refrigerate the salad for several hours to let it mellow. Taste for seasoning: you may need to add pepper, but you probably won’t need any salt because of the salty taste of the salmon.
I think orzo is just wonderful in place of rice in salads. It looks remarkably similar, but it doesn’t seem to dissolve if you overcook it, as rice does. Instead of tongue, you might use an equal amount of diced chicken, turkey, or ham, two 7-ounce cans tuna fish, or a pound of cooked crabmeat or shrimp.
6 servings
1½ cups orzo
2 cups diced cooked veal or beef tongue
1 cup finely chopped scallions
1 cup thinly sliced fennel or celery
¼ cup finely chopped parsley
¾ cup mayonnaise
¼ cup yogurt
¼ teaspoon Tabasco
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Cook and drain the orzo.
Combine it with the remaining ingredients, and toss them well, using a wooden spoon or your hands. Let the salad mellow for at least 2 hours before you use it, so that the flavors have a chance to develop.
VARIATION
Cook and cool the orzo. While it is still warm stir in, with a fork, 3 tablespoons olive oil and 2 ounces wine vinegar. Toss well together. Combine cold orzo with 1 cup sliced radishes, 1 cup shredded cabbage, 1 cup finely chopped stuffed olives, and 8–10 finely cut anchovy filets. Add ⅔ cup olive oil, 3 tablespoons wine vinegar, and 1 or 2 crushed cloves garlic. Toss well. Serve with cold meats or fish.
The only essentials in this recipe are the noodles and the dressing. Think of it as a pattern, one to follow when you have leftover pasta and want to do something light and bright with it. It’s very good as it is, but you could empty out the refrigerator, add a little of this and that, and wind up with something even better.
4 servings
3 cups leftover cooked pasta of any sort, except one with a soupy sauce
3½-ounce can tuna, drained
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped celery
½ cup yogurt
½ cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill
If there is sauce clinging to the pasta, rinse it in a colander under lots of cold water. Shake it dry, and put it in a bowl with the tuna, onion, and celery.
In a small bowl beat together the yogurt, mayonnaise, mustard, and dill. Then toss the dressing with the pasta, and let the mixture rest for at least 30 minutes at room temperature before you serve it.
VARIATION
If you have cold boiled beef or veal or chicken add 2 cups diced (cooked boiled beef is especially good), plus 1 cup finely chopped celery, 1 cup chopped scallions, and 1 cup coarsely shredded carrots. Add garlic-scented vinaigrette to taste. Toss the salad and arrange in a bowl. Garnish with freshly sliced dill pickle and quartered hard-boiled eggs.
SALADE NIÇOISE WITH PASTA SHELLS
Salade Niçoise must have tuna, tomato, olives, onions, and potatoes—but how they are put together is nobody’s business but your own. This time, we used pasta shells instead of the usual potatoes, which seems a very pleasant way to change the formula.
2 servings
4 ounces small shells or other pasta
¼ cup olive oil
3 tablespoons tarragon vinegar
1 large clove garlic, chopped
4 heads Belgian endive, quartered
1 can anchovies
4 medium tomatoes, peeled and cut in wedges
3½-ounce can tuna
½ cup Greek olives
3 hard-boiled eggs, quartered
1 red onion, cut in rings
1 tablespoon capers
VINAIGRETTE:
¾ cup olive oil
3 tablespoons white-wine vinegar
½ cup coarsely cut basil leaves
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Cook and drain the pasta. Combine the pasta shells with the olive oil, tarragon vinegar, and garlic. Cover, and marinate for 2 to 3 hours. Place the marinated pasta in the center of an oval platter, with the endive at either end. Put the anchovies alongside the endive, and arrange the tomatoes, tuna, olives, eggs, and onion rings attractively around the pasta. Sprinkle capers over everything. Blend the ingredients for the vinaigrette and pour over the salad just before you serve it, or pass the sauce separately in a bowl.
Macaroni salad is standard picnic fare in much of this country. You can do it with endless variations, adding mustard, peppers, onions, or chives. But for the greatest improvement, try making it with a homemade mayonnaise. Then you get a fresh taste, and avoid that awful three-days-old taste that you sometimes get from delicatessen macaroni salad.
6 servings
1 egg
2 egg yolks
1 tablespoon lemon juice or vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1½ cups olive oil, or half olive and half peanut oil
6 ounces macaroni
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 medium onions, chopped
2 cups chopped celery
3 bell peppers, roasted, peeled, and sliced
3 hard-boiled eggs, sliced
¼ cup chopped parsley
Make the mayonnaise in the food processor. (To make it by hand or in the blender, you will have to adjust the proportions.) With the metal blade in place, add the egg and egg yolks, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Process until they are blended, about 3 seconds. Continue processing as you slowly pour the oil through the feeding tube. Taste to see if it needs more vinegar, salt, or pepper. This recipe makes nearly 2 cups mayonnaise. Measure out 1 cup for the salad, and put the rest in a container, cover, and store in the refrigerator. It will be good for a week to 10 days.
Cook and drain the pasta.
Mix the mayonnaise and mustard in a large bowl. Toss in the other ingredients, blend with the dressing, and refrigerate until ready to serve.
MACARONI SALAD II
A very different macaroni salad, and a recipe large enough to take with you to a picnic or a covered-dish supper. It’s astonishing how the flavors dull out when the dish is chilled. The vinaigrette will seem quite tangy when it is first mixed, but when it is given a few hours to mellow, it will become blunted.
8 servings
1 pound elbow macaroni
4 or 5 ribs celery, thinly sliced
16 scallions, thinly sliced
2 medium carrots, shredded
2 long, preserved green chilies, peeled and chopped
1 cup chopped parsley
½ cup olive oil, or more if needed
3 tablespoons vinegar
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Cook and drain the pasta. Toss the cooked macaroni with the vegetables. Make a vinaigrette by beating together the oil, vinegar, mustard, salt, and pepper, and mix into the salad. Chill before serving.
This is a substantial salad to serve at a summer luncheon with slices of cold ham or roast pork.
4 to 6 servings
½ pound pasta elbows, shells, or twists
2 tablespoons finely chopped onion
8 strips bacon, cooked, drained, and crumbled
½ cup mayonnaise
½ cup olive oil
2 tablespoons wine vinegar
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 teaspoon capers
½ teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Tomatoes and hard-boiled eggs, for garnish
Cook and drain the pasta.
In a salad bowl, mix the drained pasta with the onion, bacon, and mayonnaise. In a screw-top jar, combine the olive oil, vinegar, ketchup, capers, salt, and pepper, and shake it vigorously. Pour this over the pasta mixture and mix it well: hands do a very good job here. Surround it with a border of alternating tomato wedges and hard-boiled egg quarters.
CODFISH AND BUCKWHEAT-NOODLE SALAD
I must have Portuguese blood in me, because I love codfish so. But then, dried cod dishes are found all over the world. This salad is a steal from one that is made in central Europe, where they include lots of potatoes. I’ve just substituted chewy buckwheat noodles for the potatoes. I first had codfish salad on the old Independence. The barman in the observation bar was a Yugoslav and, if he liked you, he’d cook lunch for you every day with 8 or 10 of his favorite clients. He made the most marvelous codfish salad, and we’d eat it by the hour, along with a very brisk white wine or beer.
2 pounds dried salted codfish
1 pound Japanese buckwheat noodles
¾ cup peanut oil
3 tablespoons vinegar
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 large cloves garlic, finely chopped
12 shallots, chopped, or enough chopped onion to make 1 cup
½ cup chopped parsley
The night before you plan to cook the fish, put it to soak in cold water. Change the water several times to soften the fillets and remove the salt. When you are ready to cook the fish, drain it, put it in a saucepan, and cover it with fresh water. Bring to a boil and simmer 15 minutes, or until tender. Drain, and set aside. Cook and drain the noodles.
Make a dressing of the oil, vinegar, mustard, soy sauce, garlic, and shallots. Break the fish apart with a fork or your fingers. Mix it with the noodles, the vinaigrette, and the chopped parsley. Serve on a bed of salad greens, garnished with lemon wedges and sprigs of parsley.
VARIATION
Instead of the codfish, use 1 pound shrimp, crabmeat, or scallops, or the equivalent amount of lobster meat. If you use fresh fish, you will not, of course, soak it before you cook it, and will probably cut down the cooking time, depending on the thickness of the fish.
Composed salads are so much fun. You do a still life, a great picture on a platter, and then everyone eats what he wants. This, by the way, is the answer to people who say that noodles are fattening. The only calories worth counting in this composed salad are in the olive oil and the duck skin. I used Chinese cellophane or transparent noodles, made of mung-bean flour.
8 servings
3 ounces cellophane noodles
4 pounds mushrooms
3 shallots, finely chopped
½ cup olive oil
¼ cup wine vinegar
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 duck breast, cooked and skinned
2 to 3 heads Boston lettuce
2 heads Bibb lettuce
2 bunches scallions, shredded
4 to 6 beets, cooked, peeled, and sliced
¼ pound sugar snap peas
VINAIGRETTE:
1 teaspoon coarse salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons wine vinegar
½ cup fruity olive oil
Chopped parsley
Begin by preparing the transparent noodles. These must be soaked before they are cooked. Because they overcook in no time at all, we’ve had to work out a way to keep them from melting into jelly. Cover the noodles with cold water and let them soak for an hour. Drain them, return them to the bowl, cover with boiling water, and let them cool in the water for 30 minutes. Drain and set aside.
Wipe the mushrooms with damp paper towels. Remove the stems, and put them aside to use in a soup or stew. Put the caps in a bowl with the shallots, olive oil, vinegar, mustard, salt, and pepper. Mix well, cover, and marinate for at least 1 hour.
Remove the duck skin from the meat, and slice both skin and meat into thin strips. Put the meat aside and fry the strips of skin in very hot oil in a skillet until they are crisp. Set the pieces aside to drain on a paper towel.
Now arrange the lettuce leaves on a large platter. On them, arrange the drained marinated mushrooms, the noodles, scallions, beets, duck breast, and peas. The whole point of a composed salad is its composition, so use all your skill in the arrangement.
You can prepare the salad ahead to this point. Just before you serve it, mix a vinaigrette of salt, pepper, Dijon mustard, vinegar, and oil. Spoon it over the salad, and garnish with strips of crisp duck skin and with chopped parsley.
Lemon Juice and Pepper
Garlic and Oil
Parsley and Cheese
Pasta and Peppers
