IF I stress nothing else in this my book, I want to point out the importance of raw green leaves as food. Seek them and use them above all things. They are the food Nature provides in abundance for our well-being. And salads need not be solely summer food. They can stretch through fall and winter—with cabbage, beets, carrots, and apples—till spring comes with dandelion, sorrel, lamb's quarters and the earliest of lettuce leaves. To everything there is a season? To salads every time is their season.
Salads are the liveliest vegetables we eat. The chlorophyll in green things gives the body the greatest vitality and relays the sun's forces directly to the inner man. It is the green life-blood of the plant, the giver of strength and energy. If an apple a day keeps the doctor away, so will a salad. Both are effective deterrents to medical care.
Vegetables can be limp and lifeless and still be edible if cooked, but for a zestful and appetizing salad, the ingredients must be absolutely fresh and crisp. Weary hand-handled wilted lettuce, flabby celery, soggy tomatoes and spongy cucumbers can never make a good salad. The components should be firm and are usually fibrous: crisp enough to have to be masticated, not soft and sloppy. They should stimulate the saliva and gastric juices and start digestion in the mouth.
Salads are nothing new as food, for greens were certainly foraged for in the most ancient times, and they are mentioned much in olden books I have read on food.
Lettuce ever was, and still continues the principal Foundation of the universal Tribe of Sallets. So highly valu'd by the great Augustus, that attributing his Recovery of a dangerous Sickness to them, 'tis reported he erected a Statue and built an Altar to this noble Plant.
JOHN EVELYN,
Acetaria, 1699
Lettuce and cress have, from the earliest times, occupied a most prominent place among the dinner salads. We are told that the Hebrews ate them without dressing, simply sprinkling over them a little salt. The Greeks, however, used honey and oil, while the Romans served lettuce with hard-boiled eggs, oil and spice, making a salad much more to the liking of the present generation. These salads were served as the first course. They were considered a great luxury and probably appetizers, as in those days foods were heavy and were served in enormous quantities.
SARAH TYSON RORER,
New Salads, 1897
Scott and I consider the eating of raw greens the most important part of our diet. Our suppers are incomplete without a salad. Instead of ending with a small salad when we have eaten our fill of other foods, we start with a large bowl of fresh raw greens or cut-up fruits or vegetables. We eat our fill of that, and then chink up the cracks, if any, with secondary provender. The start of the evening meal is always salad in some form.
Every day of the annual 365, unless we are fasting, we try to keep raw greens a major part of at least one of our meals. If half of our diet could be raw, and at least a quarter of it green, we would find that ideal. We aim in that direction and can accomplish it even in our cold climate and in the wintertime by utilizing the roots and cabbages from our root cellar, and by sprouting seeds.
Seeds carry the life form of the future plant, the concentrated power that develops into the plant. The abundant source of vitality that is in sprouted seeds form one of the simplest and quickest and cheapest ways to add vitamins, minerals and protein to the diet.
Seeds of every kind are easily available and can be stored in bulk till sprouted. Peas, beans of various kinds (notably the mung, much used by the Chinese), lentils and other legumes, sunflower seeds, plus the cereal grasses such as wheat, oats, rye, alfalfa, are the favorites for sprouting. Sprouting increases the nutritional value of seeds, yielding more vitality than cooked seeds. The sprouts are better eaten raw, but can also be steamed or sauteed. Add raw sprouts to soups, blender drinks, sandwiches, yogurt, breads. They are most important in salads.
I have an easy way of sprouting seeds. I put a handful in a two-quart bowl, filling the bowl half-full of water. I cover it with a plate and keep in the kitchen overnight. In the morning I turn the bowl carefully upside down, keeping the plate on and catching the soak-water in another bowl. I feed this nourishing water to any house-plants we may have, or I add the water to any existing soup or soup stock. Then I cover the seeds with fresh water, stir about a bit and again pour off, with the bowl upside down and plate on tight, till all water is gone. I cover the bowl again (this time with no water on the seeds) and leave for half a day. I continue rinsing and pouring off and covering two or three times a day till little sprouts appear. When they are one or two inches long we eat them. They will keep for days in the refrigerator.
Salads need not be hampered by recipes. Use what is in season; use what is in the garden or meadow. "The country liver need never be without a salad if he will but use his eyes."1 There are plenty of "Plants and Esculents we find at hand, delight ourselves to gather, and are easily prepar'd for an Extemporary Collation."2 We can search the woods and fields for fresh green fodder, or confine ourselves to garden growth.
If I should set down all the sorts of herbes that are usually gathered for Sallets, I should not onely speake of Garden herbes, but of many herbes that growe wilde in the fields, or else be but weedes in a Garden; for the usuall manner with many is to take the young buds and leaves of everything almost that groweth, as well in the Garden as in the Fields, and put them all together, that the taste of the one may amend the rellish of the other.
JOHN PARKINSON,
Parodist in Sole, 1629
As to salad dressing, I go heavy on the oil, light on the vinegar, and usually make a gesture toward one or other herb. But—"Do not stir up your salad till the mouths are ready for it."3
It is next to impossible to give absolute directions for the compounding of a salad, so far as the precise amount of each component is concerned—some exacting more oil and salt, some more vinegar and pepper than others—the acidity of vinegar withal being an extremely variable quantity.
GEORGE H. ELLWANGER,
The Pleasures of the Table, 1902
Tossed into a bowl, it all makes a delicious blend, though it may be sharp, like dandelion or sorrel or radish, or bland and sweet, as lettuce, lamb's quarters or carrots. It does not take a genius to make a good salad, though "the wisest sheep never thought of culling and testing his grasses, seasoning them with thyme or tarragon, softening them with oil, exasperating them with mustard, sharpening them with vinegar, spiritualizing them with a suspicion of onions. The lion is generous as a hero, the rat artful as a lawyer, the dove gentle as a lover, the beaver is a good engineer, the monkey is a clever actor, but none of them can make a salad."4
Before I come to my own simple compounds, here are some ancient recipes you might like to try.
Take Lettice, Spinnage, Endiff, Celery, and cut half an head of Garlick amongst it, and then season it well with Oyl, Vinegar and Salt. That is a brave warming Sallet, and very wholsom.
THOMAS TRYON,
The Good House-wife Made a Doctor, 1692
A very pretty salad can be made of nasturtium blossoms, buttercups, a head of lettuce, and a pint of water cresses. It is to be covered with the French dressing and eaten immediately.
M.E.W. SHERWOOD,
The Art of Entertaining, 1892
Sage, Rosemary, Thyme, Winter and Summer Savory, Mint, Penny-royal, Parsley, Chervil, Onnions, Lettice, Sorrel, Beets both White and Red, Spinage, Cabadges or Colworts, Comfry, and many other gallant wholsome Herbs do make most excellent Sallads, which being mixt with Oyl or Butter, the Juice of Oranges and Salt, warm the Body, and more naturally and pleasantly exhillerate the Spirits than any sort of Wine drank in Moderation.
THOMAS TRYON,
Friendly Advice to Gentlemen Farmers, 1684
The ultimate in appreciation of salads I found in an enconium, dateless, authorless, and titleless, though undoubtedly inspired:
A bowl of lettuce is the Venus of the dinner table. It rises upon the sight, cool, moist and beautiful, like that very imprudent lady coming out of the sea, sir. And to complete the image, sir, neither should be dressed too much.
Anyone who can put a big salad on the table can always feed a crowd adequately and wholesomely. Salads are essential to my good life.
A housekeeper who has conquered the salad question can always add to the plainest dinner a desirable dish. She can feed the hungry, and she can stimulate the most jaded fancy of the over-fastidious gourmet by these delicate and consummate luxuries. To learn to make a salad is the most important of qualifications for one who would master the art of entertaining.
M.E.W. SHERWOOD,
The Art of Entertaining, 1892
BASIC SUPPER SALAD
1 head lettuce, coarsely chopped
4 tomatoes, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 unpeeled cucumber, sliced
6 spinach leaves
1/4 cup chopped parsley
4 tablespoons oil
2 tablespoons vinegar
Combine the lettuce, tomatoes, green pepper, onion and the cucumber. Thoroughly wash and dry the spinach leaves, and tear into bite-sized pieces; add to the salad along with the parsley. Just before serving, add the oil and vinegar, tossing to coat the vegetables well. Serve immediately or spinach leaves will get soggy. Serves 6.
WINTER SUPPER SALAD
1/2 head lettuce or cabbage, finely chopped
4 stalks celery, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
3 apples, chopped
1/4 cup chopped nuts
1/4 cup oil
2 tablespoons vinegar
Combine the lettuce or cabbage with the celery, green pepper, apples and nuts. Add the oil and vinegar, tossing to coat the ingredients well.
SUPER SALAD FOR A CROWD
Even if people ask for seconds (which they will), this salad goes a long way! Serve it in one or more huge bowls even a big kettle.
1 bunch each romaine, endive and chicory
1 dandelion plant, finely cut up
1 head of cauliflower, flowerets only
3 stalks broccoli, flowerets only
1 bunch celery, chopped (including the leaves)
2 green peppers, chopped
10 small red radishes, whole
1 onion, sliced
1 carrot, finely sliced
1 cup mung bean sprouts
1 cup olive oil
1/2 cup cider vinegar
Thoroughly wash and dry the romaine, endive and chicory; tear into bite-sized pieces and place in a large bowl. Add the remaining vegetables, mixing well. Just before serving, add the oil and vinegar, tossing to thoroughly coat the vegetables. Serve immediately. Serves 8 to 10.
SUMMER SALAD
2 cups fresh green peas, uncooked
2 green peppers, chopped
2 carrots, slivered
2 young cucumbers, thinly sliced
1/2 cup minced parsley
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Lettuce leaves
Place the peas, green pepper, carrots, cucumbers and parsley in a bowl. Toss well with the olive oil and lemon juice until the vegetables are well coated. Serve on a bed of lettuce leaves.
WINTER CABBAGE SALAD
1 small head red or white cabbage, chopped
5 apples, chopped (peel apples if skins are tough)
1/2 cup raisins
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
3 tablespoons olive oil
Combine the cabbage with the apples and raisins. Add the vinegar and oil, tossing to coat the ingredients well.
SPANISH SLAW
4 cups shredded cabbage
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup pitted black olives
1 green pepper, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 pimiento, chopped
1 tablespoon vinegar, or to taste
Combine the cabbage, olive oil, olives, green pepper, onion and the pimiento. Add vinegar to taste and mix again.
CABBAGE MEDLEY SALAD
1 small head cabbage, finely chopped
2 apples, chopped
1 orange, peeled and cut in chunks
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup chopped pitted dates
1 cup chopped nuts
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Combine the cabbage, apples, orange and raisins. Stir in the dates and the nuts. Add the olive oil and lemon juice, tossing to coat the ingredients well.
CRUNCHY PINEAPPLE SLAW
1 small head cabbage, finely sliced
1 apple, diced
1 can (15 ounces) crushed pineapple, with juice
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1/4 cup shelled peanuts (optional)
Combine the cabbage, apple and pineapple with its juice. Add the olive oil and lemon juice, and mix well. Just before serving toss in the optional peanuts if desired.
APPLE SLAW
3 apples, grated
1/2 head red cabbage, grated
2 cups celery, chopped coarsely (including the leaves)
1/4 cup raisins
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons oil
Lettuce leaves
Combine the apples, cabbage, celery and raisins. Add the honey, lemon juice and oil, tossing well after each addition to coat the ingredients well. Serve on a bed of lettuce leaves.
WALDORF SALAD
4 apples, diced
2 cups chopped celery
1/4 cup raisins
1/4 cup chopped nuts
4 tablespoons oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice
Combine the apples, celery, raisins and nuts. Add the oil and lemon juice, tossing to coat the ingredients well.
Variation: If you're accustomed to using mayonnaise in a Waldorf Salad, substitute a dab of sour cream or cottage cheese for the oil and lemon juice. Either one will give the salad a creamy consistency.
QUICK BEET SALAD
4 cooked beets, peeled and diced
2 cups sliced celery
2 onions, sliced
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
Combine the beets, celery and onions. Add the olive oil and vinegar, tossing to coat the vegetables well. If not serving right away, refrigerate; this salad will keep well for several hours.
BEET SALAD
4 raw beets, peeled and grated
4 stalks celery, sliced
1 onion, chopped
2 tablespoons oil
1 tablespoon vinegar
1/2 cup sour cream
Mix the beets, celery and onion together. Add the oil and vinegar, tossing to coat the vegetables well. Top each serving with a blob of sour cream.
BEET & APPLE SALAD I
2 raw beets, peeled and grated
2 apples, chopped
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup raisins
1 tablespoon vinegar
1 tablespoon orange or lemon juice
2 tablespoons oil
Mix the beets, apples and celery together; add the raisins. Add the vinegar, orange or lemon juice and oil, tossing to coat the ingredients thoroughly.
BEET & APPLE SALAD II
4 raw beets, peeled and grated
4 apples, grated
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons honey
4 teaspoons lemon juice
Place the beets and apples in a bowl. Add the olive oil, honey and lemon juice, tossing well after each addition to coat the apples and beets thoroughly.
CAULIFLOWER SALAD
1 head cauliflower, broken into flowerets
1 green pepper, chopped
6 stalks celery, chopped (including the leaves)
1 cup chopped nuts OR 1/2 cup pitted black olives
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Lettuce leaves
Combine the cauliflower, green pepper and celery; stir in the nuts or the olives. Add the olive oil and lemon juice, tossing to coat the vegetables well. Serve on a bed of lettuce leaves.
GRATED CARROT SALAD
4 cups grated carrots
2 tablespoons aniseed
Juice of 2 lemons
4 tablespoons peanut oil
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1/2 cup cottage cheese
Combine the carrots with the aniseed. Add the lemon juice, peanut oil and vinegar, tossing to coat the carrots well. Serve with a dab of cottage cheese over each serving.
Variations: 1. Omit the aniseed and add 1/4 cup raisins and 1 can (8 ounces) of drained crushed pineapple. 2. Add two diced apples.
MALAYSIAN SALAD
2 young unpeeled cucumbers, thinly sliced
4 stalks celery, thinly sliced
1 can (15 ounces) pineapple chunks, drained well
1/2 pint sour cream
1/2 teaspoon dill seed
Combine all the ingredients, tossing gently. If not serving right away, place in the refrigerator.
NO-LETTUCE SALAD
4 tomatoes, chopped
1 onion, finely chopped
2 cucumbers, peeled and sliced
1 green pepper, sliced
6 stalks celery, sliced
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
3 tablespoons olive oil
Combine the tomatoes, onion, cucumbers, green pepper and celery. Add the vinegar and olive oil, tossing to coat the vegetables well. This salad will keep in the refrigerator if made in advance.
GREEK SALAD
2 cups dried beans, soaked overnight in ample water to cover
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 small onion, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 cup chopped parsley
Pinch of sea salt
Finely chopped dandelion greens for garnish
6 black olives, quartered
Cook the beans in the water until tender—up to 2 hours. Drain off the excess liquid and save for soup, if desired. Let the beans cool to room temperature. Add the oil, vinegar, onion, garlic, parsley and sea salt, mixing until thoroughly combined. Garnish the salad with the chopped dandelion greens and black olives. Serves 6.
COTTAGE CHEESE SALAD
2 cups cottage cheese
2 green peppers, chopped
4 stalks celery, sliced
1 onion, chopped
10 pitted black olives, chopped
Lettuce leaves
Combine the cottage cheese with the chopped vegetables. To serve, mound the mixture over a bed of lettuce leaves.
ONE-INGREDIENT SALADS
Celeriac: Peel and grate a raw celery root into a bowl; add lemon juice and olive oil to taste. Or cook the celery root, cut it into cubes, and serve cold with lemon juice and oil.
Greenleaf: Plain greenleaf salads can be made by cutting up any of the following, and dressing with oil and vinegar to taste: cos, butterhead, oakleaf, iceberg, curly endive, escarole, chicory.
Radish: Scrub and thinly slice 4 dozen radishes; toss with 4 teaspoons of olive oil and 2 teaspoons of lemon juice. Serve on a bed of romaine lettuce leaves.
Belgian endive: Carefully wash 3 Belgian endives, separating their compact shape as little as possible; shake dry. Cut crosswise into 1" circles, and toss with 2 tablespoons oil and 1 tablespoon of lemon juice.
DANDELION SALAD
2 cups dried lima beans, soaked overnight in water to cover by more than 1"
6 green dandelion plants, chopped fine
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons vinegar
2 tomatoes, cut in wedges
Cook the beans in the water until tender—about 2 hours. Drain off the excess liquid and save for soup, if desired. Let the beans cool to room temperature. Cut the roots off the dandelion plants, and clean the leaves carefully. Stir into the beans. Add the oil and vinegar, tossing to coat the beans well. Add the tomato wedges and stir again. Serves 6.
CHICORY BITTERSWEET SALAD
6 oranges, peeled and sliced
2 Spanish onions, chopped
1 cup chopped pitted black olives
4 teaspoons olive oil
Pinch of ground coriander
Chicory leaves
Combine the oranges, onions and olives. Add the olive oil and coriander, tossing to coat ingredients well. Tear up several chicory leaves, and arrange them on individual plates; pile the salad on top.
CUCUMBER SALAD
4 small unpeeled cucumbers, thinly sliced
6 young red radishes, thinly sliced
Bunch of green onions, chopped
1 teaspoon fresh dill seed
1 teaspoon fresh chopped thyme
1 cup sour cream
Combine the cucumbers, radishes, green onions, dill seed and thyme. Serve the mixture dressed with the sour cream.
DRESSY WINTER SALAD
4 apples, diced
4 stalks celery, sliced
1 carrot, coarsely grated
2 very ripe bananas, sliced
1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh ginger
Juice of 1 lemon
2 tablespoons olive oil
Lettuce leaves
1/2 cup cottage cheese
Combine the apples, celery, carrot, bananas and ginger. Add the lemon juice and olive oil, tossing to coat the ingredients well. To serve, mound the salad on lettuce leaves, and top with dabs of cottage cheese.
POTATO SALAD
6 medium potatoes
1 onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup chopped parsley
4 tablespoons oil
2 tablespoons vinegar
Pinch of sea salt
Place the potatoes in a large saucepan with enough cold water to cover. Bring to a boil and cook just until fork-tender; do not overcook. Drain the potatoes; remove the peel and slice them while they are still warm. Add the onion and parsley, and stir gently, being careful not to crush the potato slices. Add the oil, vinegar, and sea salt, and toss well to coat the potatoes thoroughly. Serves 4 to 6.
RAW POTATO SALAD
2 unpeeled raw potatoes, shredded
2 onions, chopped
1 bunch parsley, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 ripe avocado, peeled and mashed
1 teaspoon vinegar
Combine the potatoes, onion and parsley. Add the olive oil, avocado and vinegar, mixing until the ingredients are well combined. Serve on lettuce leaves.
RAW BEAN SALAD
2 cups uncooked finely sliced green beans
1 carrot, thinly sliced
1/2 cup raw cauliflower buds
1 small onion, sliced
1/4 cup oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice
Combine the green beans, carrots, cauliflower and onion. Add the oil and lemon juice, tossing to coat the ingredients well.
ZUCCHINI-WATERCRESS SALAD
2 uncooked young zucchini, thinly sliced
3 tomatoes, chopped
1 onion, sliced, or 1/4 cup chopped shallots
1 green pepper, seeded and sliced into rings
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon cider vinegar or lemon juice
Pinch of celery salt
Watercress
Combine the zucchini with the tomatoes, onion and green pepper. Add the olive oil, vinegar or lemon juice, and the celery salt, stirring to coat the vegetables well. Serve the salad mounded on a bed of watercress.
SPINACH SALAD
1 pound fresh spinach
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon vinegar
Dash of soy sauce
1/2 cup mung bean sprouts
1/2 cup fresh green peas
Thoroughly wash and dry the spinach; tear the leaves into bite-sized pieces and place in a bowl. Just before serving, add the oil, vinegar and soy sauce, tossing to coat the spinach well. Do not do this too soon or the leaves will become soggy. Transfer the spinach to individual bowls, and garnish each serving with the bean sprouts and peas.
BEAN SPROUT SALAD
4 cups mung bean sprouts
1 cup chopped celery
4 tomatoes, chopped
1 cup minced green onion
2 tablespoons oil
1 tablespoon vinegar
Place the bean sprouts, celery, tomatoes and green onion in a bowl. Add the oil and vinegar, tossing to coat the vegetables well.
1 Juliet Corson, Family Living on $500 a Year, 1888
2 John Evelyn, Acetaria, 1699
3 Mrs. N.K.M. Lee, The Cook's Own Book, 1832
4 M.E.W. Sherwood, The Art of Entertaining, 1892