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This weeks featureSunshine is the best partner to al fresco food, but a delicioiusly fresh salad comes a close second.
by Graham Sherwood
As the holiday season gets into full swing, the warmer weather and the increase in outdoor living lightens our appetites somewhat. Barbecued food, cold meats and fish are our prime fare, all of which are best accompanied by a fresh, crisp salad.
Salad, the generic word for a melange, a hotchpotch, a mixture of several items, owes its title to the Saladoan tribes of North America, one of the first civilisations to realise the benefits of combining cultures to make a more complete whole, as long ago as 1100 AD. |
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Although the term salad can be used for mixtures of fish, meat or poultry, we generally understand it to mean a combination of the small group of vegetables - and fruits - that can be used in many innovative ways to add an exciting accompaniment to our main meal choice.
Here's a mouth-watering selection of summer eating ideas - our Top Five salads for August, each with a subtle twist on the original. |
Caeser Salad. | Caesar salad
Named after its creator, Caesar Cardini, who got round a lack of ingredients when asked to feed a late guest at his Tijuana restaurant by cobbling together the now famous mixture. the original 1924 recipe did not include anchovies, now preferred by many, but Worcestershire sauce.
• Romaine lettuce (Cos can also be used)
• 1 egg
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 1 tbsp anchovy paste
• 4 or 5 shakes of Worcestershire sauce
• Salt and black pepper
• 1 lemon, freshly squeezed
• Olive oil
• 2 to 3 handfuls of grated Parmesan cheese
• Croutons |
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1. Thoroughly wash and dry the lettuce.
2. Bring a small pan of water to the boil and coddle the egg for 60 seconds.
3. Squeeze the garlic into a wooden salad bowl, add the anchovy paste and smear both liberally around the edges of the bowl.
4. Crack the coddled egg into the bowl, season with salt and pepper, add the Worcestershire sauce and whisk together.
5. Add lemon juice to taste and whisk again, then add olive oil in small quantities whilst continuing to whisk. Taste test on a small piece of lettuce until perfect.
6. Tear the lettuce into bite-size pieces, add to the mixture and toss gently.
7. Decorate with croutons and cheese.
Funkyfogey twist: Grilled chicken is often added to a classic Caesar salad, but as an alternative, try thin strips of steak or one or two tiger prawns instead. |
Waldorf Salad. | Waldorf salad
This salad was invented at New York's prestigious Waldorf Astoria Hotel. In 1896, the Maitre d'Hotel, Oscar Tschirky, thought of adding apples, celery and mayonnaise to a bed of lettuce, as a starter. The now essential chopped walnuts were not part of the original recipe, but followed soon after.
• 2 sweet apples, different varieties
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 250g (8oz) chopped celery
• 125g (4oz) mayonnaise
• 125g (4oz) raisins
• 125g (4oz) walnuts
• 1 lettuce or 1 bag of mixed leaves |
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1. Chop the apples, sprinkle with lemon juice to prevent them from browning, then add all the other ingredients and mix gently.
2. Coat with mayonnaise and serve on a bed of crisp lettuce or mixed leaves.
Funkyfogey twist: Grill or barbecue a salmon fillet, allow to cool, then flake onto the salad. |
Nicoise Salad. | Nicoise salad
Harder to define, ingredients-wise, is this French creation from Nice, the culinary gem of the Mediterranean. Originally, Nicoise salad used a bed of tomatoes, on which to add a jumble of potatoes, olives and green beans, liberally smothered in vinaigrette. Nowadays, it seems anything goes, so expect to see anything in it!
• 1 can of drained tuna fish chunks
• 2 hard-boiled eggs
• 4 to 6 black olives, pitted
• 6 cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1 small tin of anchovies
• 1 clove of garlic
• 4 to 6 small boiled potatoes, cold, quartered
• 125g (4oz) salted green beans
• Lemon juice
• Olive oil
• Black pepper
• Croutons (optional) |
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There is no hard and fast method for constructing a Nicoise salad, though the very best are displayed (due to the numerous ingredients) like a harvest festival, with each item bunched separately and drizzled with lemon juice and olive oil.
Funkyfogey twist: Substitute a chargrilled fresh tuna steak for the canned tuna, or use quail eggs for an exotic finish. |
Greek Salad. | Greek Salad
For sheer simplicity, using fine ingredients with defined flavours, a classic Greek salad makes an ideal starter or main course.
• 3 or 4 plum tomatoes, or similar
• 1 large red onion
• 250g (8oz) Feta cheese
• Half a cucumber
• Olive oil
• Salt
• 6 to 8 green olives in oil, pitted
• Fresh oregano, roughly chopped |
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1. Thinly slice the onion, tomatoes and cucumber, arrange in layers around the serving plate and sprinkle with a little salt.
2. Cut the feta cheese into half-inch blocks (fetts) and tumble onto the salad, then add the olives, halved if preferred.
3. Sprinkle the oregano liberally over the salad, then drizzle with olive oil.
Funkyfogey twist: Replace half the Feta with a tangy blue cheese like Gorgonzola or blue Brie, or add a small tin of flageolet beans. |
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