45. With the knowledge already obtained of the food value of the
vegetables that are generally used as ingredients in vegetable salads,
the housewife ought to have no difficulty in determining whether she is
giving her family a salad that is high or low in food value. For
instance, she should know that the food value of a plain lettuce or
cucumber salad is lower than that of one made from potatoes because of
the different values in the vegetables used.. In addition, she ought to
be familiar with the fact that the dressing added to salads has, in most
cases, greater food value than the other ingredients of the salad.
Equipped with such knowledge, she will observe that the vegetable salads
here given are comparatively low in food value. Consequently, nearly
every one of them will lend itself nicely for use with a dinner or a
comparatively heavy meal.
46. In these recipes, as well as in those for the other kinds of salad,
the proportion of ingredients may be varied according to the quantity of
the particular food in supply. For instance, if a recipe for a salad of
peas and celery calls for 1 cupful of each of these vegetables and only
3/4 cupful of celery can be obtained, there is no reason why the
difference cannot be made up by using 1 1/4 cupfuls of peas. But if such
a change is to be made, the ingredients should be increased or decreased
in the correct proportion. Then the quantity of salad that the recipe is
intended to produce will not be altered and the housewife will know just
how many the salad will serve. In the various recipes, about 1/2 cupful
of salad is the quantity allowed for each person. This may be enlarged
or made smaller in order to suit the quantity of other foods served at
the same meal.
47. ASPARAGUS SALAD--Salad in which asparagus is the chief ingredient is
one that may be served during the entire year, for either freshly cooked
or canned asparagus may be used; in fact, the canned asparagus is
considered by many persons to be better than that which is freshly
cooked. It may be cut into inch lengths or the tips may be cut down
about 4 inches from the top or even farther.
ASPARAGUS SALAD
(Sufficient to Serve Five)
Lettuce
1 pimiento
1 can asparagus
Salad dressing
Garnish salad plates with the lettuce. Place the asparagus tips in an
orderly pile on the lettuce leaf. Cut a thin strip of the pimiento, and
place this across the tips in the center. Just before serving, pour a
spoonful or two of any desired salad dressing over this or place the
salad on the table and serve the dressing, allowing each person to take
what is desired.
48. BEET-AND-BEAN SALAD.--An excellent winter salad and one that may be
made from canned or left-over vegetables is beet-and-bean salad. If
string beans happen to be left over or only part of a can remains, they
may be combined with beets that are canned or freshly cooked for the
purpose. This salad should be carefully combined just before serving,
since the beets will discolor the rest of the ingredients if it is
allowed to stand any length of time.
BEET-AND-BEAN SALAD
(Sufficient to Serve Four)
1 c. string beans
Lettuce
1 c. beets
Salad dressing
Cut the string beans into half-inch lengths and cut the beets into
half-inch dice. Season each well with salt and pepper. Just before
serving, garnish salad plates with lettuce, combine the two vegetables,
and place in a heap on a lettuce leaf. Pour French dressing or any other
salad dressing desired over them, but do not mix the salad dressing with
the vegetables.
[Illustration: FIG. 2]
49. CABBAGE SALAD.--A salad that always finds favor is made by combining
cabbage with a boiled salad dressing or with an uncooked sour-cream
dressing. Salad of this kind may be served in any desired way, but a
rather novel way to serve it is illustrated in Fig. 2. The contents of a
head of cabbage is removed, leaving four or five of the outside leaves
intact. The shell thus formed is cut into points around the top and then
filled with shredded cabbage and the dressing that is to be used. When
this is placed on a bed of lettuce, an attractive dish is the result.
To make cabbage salad, select a firm head of cabbage, pull off the
outside leaves, and wash. Cut the head in half down through the heart
and root and cut each half into quarters. Then, as shown in Fig. 3,
place each quarter on a cutting board and with a sharp knife shave off
the cabbage. If desired, however, the cabbage may be shredded with a
cabbage cutter. If the cabbage, upon being cut, is found to be wilted,
place it in cold water and let it stand until it becomes crisp. Drain
off the water carefully and allow the cabbage to drip in a colander or
dry it between pieces of old linen. With the cabbage thus prepared,
season it with salt and mix it with the desired dressing. Serve on
lettuce in a salad dish, on individual salad plates, or in the manner
shown in Fig. 2.
[Illustration: FIG. 3]
50. CABBAGE-AND-CELERY SALAD.--Cabbage and celery combine very well, for
they are similar in color and crispness. They can be procured at the
same time of the year, and while celery is not cheap, cabbage is a
comparatively inexpensive food and the two combined make an inexpensive
salad. Because the color of both is very much the same, pimiento is
added to give a contrasting color.
CABBAGE-AND-CELERY SALAD
(Sufficient to Serve Four)
1 c. cabbage
1 c. celery
1 pimiento or green pepper
1/2 tsp. salt
2 Tb. vinegar
Lettuce
Salad dressing
Cut the cabbage in the manner just explained, cut the celery into thin
pieces across the stem, and dice the green pepper or pimiento or both
into very small dice. Measure each of these, combine them, season with
the salt and vinegar, and just before serving drain carefully. Serve on
lettuce with any desired salad dressing.
51. WINTER SALAD.--A salad made entirely of winter vegetables may be
prepared when there are no fresh vegetables in supply. If any of the
vegetables are left over, the others may be prepared to use with the
left-over ones. A good plan to follow when carrots, turnips, or potatoes
are being prepared for a meal is to cook more than is necessary for the
one meal and then set aside part of them for a salad to be served at
another meal.
WINTER SALAD
(Sufficient to Serve Six)
1 c. turnips, diced
1 c. carrots, diced
1 c. potatoes, diced
1 Tb. chopped onion
French dressing
Lettuce
Salad dressing
Cook turnips, carrots, and potatoes whole in boiling water until tender
enough to be pierced with a fork. If they have not been peeled before
cooking, peel and cut into small dice. Mix, add the onion, marinate with
French dressing, and allow to stand for a short time. Garnish salad
plates with lettuce leaves, pile the salad on the lettuce, and serve
with any desired salad dressing.
52. CAULIFLOWER SALAD.--Cauliflower makes a rather unusual salad, and
for a change it will be found to be delightful. It does not combine with
other vegetables very readily, but a cooked floweret or two may often be
used to garnish another vegetable salad.
CAULIFLOWER SALAD
(Sufficient to Serve Six)
Cauliflower
Lettuce
Salad dressing
Prepare a head of cauliflower for cooking according to the directions
given in _Vegetables_, Part 1. Cook in boiling salted water until
tender, but quite firm. Drain and cool. Arrange the flowerets on a salad
plate garnished with lettuce and serve with French dressing or any other
desired salad dressing.
53. CAULIFLOWER-AND-TOMATO SALAD.--A salad in which cauliflower and
tomatoes are combined is attractive in appearance if it is nicely made.
It also has the advantage of being simple to prepare. When cauliflower
is cooked for salad, care must be taken not to cook it so long as to
discolor it or cause it to fall to pieces.
CAULIFLOWER-AND-TOMATO SALAD
(Sufficient to Serve Six)
3 tomatoes
Lettuce
6 cauliflower flowerets
Dressing
Select firm, ripe, medium-sized tomatoes. Place them in boiling water
to scald them, and then dip them quickly into cold water and remove the
skins. Cut out the stem ends and slice each tomato half way between the
stem and blossom ends. Place each half tomato on a salad plate garnished
with a lettuce leaf, stick a stem of the cauliflower into the center,
and serve with boiled salad dressing or mayonnaise.
54. CELERY SALAD.--One means of using stalks of celery that are just a
little too coarse to serve nicely on the table is to combine them with
radishes and make a salad. The more tender celery, of course, makes a
better salad. If the radishes selected for the salad are of the red
variety and they are used without peeling, they add a touch of color
to the dish.
CELERY SALAD
(Sufficient to Serve Five)
1-1/2 c. diced celery
1/2 c. diced radishes
2 Tb. chopped onion
Salad dressing
Lettuce
Cut the celery into fine dice, and dice the radishes more finely than
the celery. Mix the two together, add the onion, and just before serving
mix with any desired salad dressing. Serve on salad plates garnished
with lettuce.
55. SLICED CUCUMBER-AND-ONION SALAD.--An attractive way in which to
serve sliced cucumbers and onions is shown in Fig. 4. A single large
cucumber should be selected for this salad, and Bermuda onions with a
mild flavor will be found to be best.
[Illustration: FIG. 4]
With a sharp knife, peel the skin from the cucumber in narrow strips
back to the stem end, but do not cut the strips loose from the end.
After the peeling has all been removed, place the cucumber on a board
and cut it into thin slices. Place on a small platter, as shown, arrange
slices of onion around the edge, and pour French dressing over the
whole. Dust with paprika and serve. A number of slices of cucumber and
one or two slices of onion should be served to each person.
[Illustration: FIG. 3]
56. CUCUMBER SALAD.--Besides serving plain slices of cucumber on a
lettuce leaf, as may be done at any time, cucumbers may be used as an
ingredient in the making of many salads. A rather attractive way in
which to use cucumbers is shown in Fig. 5 and is explained in the
accompanying recipe.
CUCUMBER SALAD
(Sufficient to Serve Six)
3 medium-sized cucumbers
1 c. diced tomato
1/2 c. diced celery
Salad dressing
Lettuce
1 pimiento
Peel the cucumbers, cut them into halves, and with a small spoon scoop
out the cucumbers in chunks, so that a boat-shaped piece of cucumber
that is about 1/4 inch thick remains. Dice the pieces of cucumber which
have been scooped from the center, and place the cucumber shells in ice
water so as to make them crisp. Mix the diced tomato, celery, and
cucumber together, and just before serving drain them carefully so that
no liquid remains. Mix with salad dressing, wipe the cucumber shells
dry, fill them with the salad mixture, and place on salad plates
garnished with lettuce leaves. Cut the pimiento into thin strips, and
place three or four strips diagonally across the cucumber, as shown in
the illustration.
57. CUCUMBER-AND-TOMATO SALAD.--A salad made of cucumbers and tomatoes
is very attractive because of the contrasting colors of the vegetables,
and it is at the same time extremely palatable. When such a salad is to
be made, small, firm tomatoes and rather large cucumbers that do not
contain very large seeds should be selected. Peel the cucumbers and
tomatoes and cut them into slices of any desired thickness. Garnish
salad plates with lettuce, and on this place a ring of the slices,
alternating the tomatoes with the cucumbers. In the center, put a slice
of cucumber or tomato and serve with any desired salad dressing.
58. ONION SALAD.--To persons who are fond of the flavor of onions, the
salad given in the accompanying recipe is very agreeable, but it is a
wise plan not to serve onions or salads containing onions unless every
one who is served is certain to enjoy them. When a salad is made from
onions, a mild onion, such as the Bermuda or Spanish onion, should
be selected.
ONION SALAD
(Sufficient to Serve Six)
3 onions
French dressing
Parsley
Lettuce
Peel the onions and slice them into thin slices. Chop the parsley and
add it to 1 or 2 tablespoonfuls of French dressing. Use comparatively
coarse leaves of lettuce and shred them. Arrange the slices of onion on
a bed of the shredded lettuce, pour the French dressing with the parsley
over all, and serve.
59. PEAS-AND-CELERY SALAD.--Peas may be freshly cooked for
peas-and-celery salad, but canned peas will do just as well. Left-over
peas not prepared with cream sauce may also be utilized nicely in this
way, or if a portion of a can of peas is needed for the meal, the
remainder may be used for a smaller quantity of salad than here stated.
Boiled salad dressing will be found to be best for this combination of
vegetables.
PEAS-AND-CELERY SALAD
(Sufficient to Serve Four)
1 c. peas
Boiled salad dressing
1 c. diced celery
Lettuce
Drain canned peas as dry as possible and mix with the diced celery. Just
before serving, add the salad dressing and mix thoroughly. Serve on
salad plates garnished with lettuce.
60. TOMATO SALAD.--Fresh tomatoes make a delightful salad because of
their appetizing appearance and color. In fact, when they are placed on
a bed of green garnish, nothing can be more delightful. Tomatoes may be
served whole on a lettuce leaf or they may be sliced. Then, again, as
shown in Fig. 6, they may be cut from the center into sections that are
allowed to fall part way open. In any of these forms, they may be served
with French dressing, mayonnaise, or any cooked salad dressing.
[Illustration: FIG. 6]
[Illustration: FIG. 7] 61. STUFFED-TOMATO SALAD.--An attractive salad in
which vegetables of almost any kind, fresh or canned, may be used to
advantage is the stuffed-tomato salad shown in Fig. 7. Medium-sized,
well-ripened tomatoes are best to select. The vegetables that may be
used for the stuffing are celery, radishes, onions, cucumbers, cooked
asparagus, green peas, and string beans. Any one or any desirable
combination of these vegetables will make a satisfactory filling.
STUFFED-TOMATO SALAD
(Sufficient to Serve Six)
6 medium-sized tomatoes
French dressing
1 1/2 c. diced vegetables
Mayonnaise dressing
Cut out the stem and blossom ends of the tomatoes and hollow out the
center so as to leave a shell. Dice the contents of the tomatoes and mix
with the other diced vegetables. Marinate the diced vegetables with
French dressing and put into the tomato shells, heaping each one as
shown. Place on lettuce leaves and serve with mayonnaise.
62. COMBINATION SALAD.--A combination salad may be made of almost any
combination of vegetables. The one given here contains only fresh
vegetables, but, if desired, others may be added or some of those
mentioned may be omitted. This will be found to be a very attractive way
in which to make a large salad to be served from a bowl or a deep plate.