Salads

Caesar Salad Dressing 
10 anchovies with capers
10 large garlic cloves
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 T. Worcestershire sauce
1 T. Dijon mustard
2 1/2 cups mayonnaise
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese (some for sprinkling on top)
For the salad, cut up fresh Romaine lettuce. Combine with croutons and enough dressing to bind lightly. This recipe makes a lot of dressing, but it keeps for at least a week in a tightly closed jar.

Italian Salad

3 cups small elbow macaroni

2 cups frozen green peas

2 cups boiled beef or chicken

2 cups cooked carrots

2 medium tart apples

1 1/2 cups pickle

1 tablespoon chopped parsley

Dressing:

1 1/2 cups mayonnaise

1/2 cup whipping cream

Juice of 1/2 lemon

1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper

The only reason this is called "Italian" salad is that in Finland, in the days this salad was created, anything that had macaroni in it had to be Italian.
Cook macaroni and peas; cool. Cut meat, carrots, apple, and pickle into julienne strips. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Whip cream; mix with the rest of the dressing ingredients. Toss the salad with dressing two hours before serving and refrigerate. Toss again, and decorate with parsley. (The salad ingredients may be cooked and cut the day before. Then just toss with the dressing two hours before serving.)

Herring Salad

4 cups pickled beets (2 cans), cubed

2 cups carrots, cooked and cubed

2 cups potatoes, cooked and cubed

1 cup apple, peeled and cubed

1 cup pickle, cubed

2/3 cup onion, finely chopped

2/3 pickled or matjes herring, chopped

Whipping cream and sugar, salt, vinegar to taste

You can prepare this the day, or even two days, before serving. If made ahead of time, cut up all ingredients and layer in a bowl, separating layers by plastic wrap. In the morning of the feast, pull out the plastic wrap and toss all the ingredients, letting the beet color the rest of the salad pink. Shortly before serving, whip up the cream and season to taste. It should be pleasantly sweet and sour.

Mushroom Salad

10 cups sliced mushrooms

1 tablespoon sea salt crystals

3 tablespoons sour cream

1 teaspoon finely minced onion and/or chives, snipped

Rinse and slice the mushrooms. Drop into a pot on boiling, salted water, bring to a full boil, and boil for 2 minutes. Drain and rinse briefly with cold water to stop the cooking. Let cool. Squeeze out extra water and layer in a glass dish with the sea salt. Weight down and refrigerate for at least a day, but two is OK. Chop finely, test for salt, and toss with the sour cream and minced onion. Sprinkle chives on top if you have them. Serve chilled. - OK to chop and toss with sour cream the day before serving.

Cucumber Salad

Fresh cucumber (one large or a couple of small)

Dill

1/2 dl sugar

1 dl distilled white vinegar

1 dl+ water

Pinch of salt

Rinse and slice the cucumbers and put into a glass container. Sprinkle with fresh dill. Place sugar, vinegar, water, and salt in a glass jar and shake until dissolved. Pour the vinegar water over the cucumbers to cover completely. Refrigerate for several hours, preferably overnight 

 

Three Bean Salad

Canned garbanzo beans

Canned kidney beans or black beans

Fresh green beans, cut up, blanched 5 min. in salted water

Chopped red onion

Chopped fresh parsley 

Dressing: 

1/4 cup red or white wine vinegar

1 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt 

1/3 cup = 5 tablespoons olive oil

Juice of one lemon, or 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 

1 teaspoon mustard

In a jar, first dissolve the salt in the vinegar, then add other ingredients and shake well. Pour over the beans and mix well. Marinate a few hours. Keeps well for a day or two.

 

 White Cabbage Salad

4 cups thinly sliced white cabbage
1 cup finely chopped fresh parsley or cilantro or a combination of the two

1 fennel root, thinly sliced

1 carrot or half of a red pepper, thinly sliced 

Dressing: 

4 tablespoons olive oil

4 tablespoons fresh lemon or lime juice

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

1 tablespoon granulated sugar

1 garlic clove, crushed

1 teaspoon salt

Combine the cabbage and parsley/cilantro in a large bowl. In a jar, combine the dressing ingredients, close the jar, and shake vigorously. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss until well combined. Chill in the fridge for a minimum of 30 minutes. (I made the salad in the morning and refrigerated all afternoon. It was great.)

 

Red Cabbage Salad

1 small head of red cabbage, thinly sliced
1 small onion, thinly sliced or finely chopped

2 1/2 teaspoons salt

Dressing: 

1/2 cup light olive oil

3/4 cup white vinegar 

3/4 cup sugar

Place the cabbage in a large glass bowl with the onion and salt, mix well. In a small saucepan, bring oil, sugar, and vinegar to a boil. Pour over the cabbage, do not stir. Let cool. Cover and refrigerate overnight. May be refrigerated for several weeks, and any leftover salad is great as an ingredient for a borsht.

Potato Salad

5 potatoes

5 eggs

1/2 red onion, finely chopped

Handful fresh dill

Salt and pepper to taste

Mayonnaise to coat

A few drops lemon juice and a little mustard
Boil the potatoes in their skins until soft enough to pierce with a knife (20 to 30 minutes, depending on the size of the potatoes. Cut them in half before boiling if you want to save time.) Let cool a little, then peel them while they are still warm. Boil the eggs for 10 minutes, cool, and peel. And enough mayonnaise the coat the potatoes, and flavor with salt and pepper, and a small amount of lemon juice and mustard. Turn into a bowl and sprinkle with fresh dill.
This potato salad is best not refrigerated. For a late afternoon barbecue, I like to make it in early afternoon, and just leave it sitting on the counter until serving time.

French Potato Salad
8 T. white wine
4 T. apple cider vinegar
2 T. peach chardonnay vinegar
2 T. mustard
1 t. salt
1/2 t. pepper
12 T. olive oil
2 T. mayonnaise
2 T. chives, snipped
2 T. dill, chopped
Slice potatoes abt 1/4 inch thick, boil 7-8 minutes in salted water, or until easily pierced with fork. Whisk all dressing ingredients together, toss with the potato slices while they are still hot. Serve warm, or in room temperature.

Cole Slaw
1/2 white cabbage
2 scallions or 1 teaspoon grated yellow onion
1/2 carrot
A little lemon juice
Freshly grated pepper to taste
A few tablespoons mayonnaise
Slice the cabbage and scallions very thin. Peel and grate the carrot, and combine with the cabbage and scallions. Add lemon juice and black pepper to taste, and toss with just enough mayonnaise to bind the ingredients lightly together. 
Never having measured the ingredients, I don't have exact amounts. Next time I make this, I'll try to pay attention.

Roasted Red Pepper and Tomato Salad 

6 peppers, seeded, roasted until the skin turns black, peeled, and chopped

4 tomatoes, seeded and chopped 

1/2 c. green onion, finely chopped

Handful fresh parsley, chopped

5 T. olive oil

3 T. balsamic vinegar

2-3 cloves garlic, pressed

 2 T. capers

1 t. salt and 1/2 t. pepper

Combine all ingredients and marinate at least 4 hours.

Spicy Potato Cauliflower Salad

1 cauliflower, cut in florets

2 large or 6 small potatoes, peeled and cubed

2 teaspoons cumin seeds, sauteed for 1 min.

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1 hot dried chili pepper, snipped

Juice of 1 lemon

4 tablespoons olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Boil the potatoes and the cauliflower for 8 minutes; drain. Mixed the sauteed cumin seeds with the rest of the ingredients. Toss with the potatoes. Serve either warm or cold. OK to refrigerate.

Orzo Salad

1 pkg orzo, boiled 8-10 minutes in lightly salted water, drained

Dressing:

3/4 cups oil

3/4 cups balsamic vinegar

1 medium red onion, finely chopped

3 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon pepper

2 teaspoons dried oregano

Garnish:

1 cup parsley, snipped

4 oz. feta or goat cheese, crumbled

Calamata olives

Vine-ripened tomatoes, cut in wedges
Marinate the cooked orzo in the dressing for 2-4 hours, or overnight. Toss in the most of the parsley and transfer to a shallow bowl. Top with the rest of the parrsley, the cheese, the olives, and the tomato wedges.

Fiery Peanut Salad

1/3 cup sesame oil
1/3 cup rice wine vinegar

1/2 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup sugar

2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger

1 teaspoon minced fresh chili pepper, or to taste

Salt and freshly cracked white pepper

1/2 cup unsalted unroasted peanuts, shelled

2 to 3 tablespoons Tabasco sauce

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1/2 head Napa cabbage, outer leaves removed; inner leaves washed, dried and sliced into thin strips

1 cup loosely packed cilantro leaves

3 scallions, white part and bottom 2 inches of green portion, thinly sliced

1 medium-size carrot, peeled and cut into very thin strips

1 red bell pepper, seeded, halved and cut into very thin strips.

In a small bowl, combine sesame oil, vinegar, soy sauce, sugar, ginger, chili pepper and salt and pepper to taste. Whisk together and set aside.
In another small bowl, combine peanuts, Tabasco sauce and vegetable oil, and mix well. Spread peanuts on a small ungreased baking sheet, and roast in a 350-degree oven until nicely browned, 12 to 15 minutes. Chop roughly.
In a large bowl, combine cabbage, cilantro, scallions, carrots and red pepper. Stir dressing well, pour on just enough to moisten ingredients (some dressing will be left over) and toss to coat. Garnish with peanuts and serve.
NOTE: This makes for VERY hot salad. If you want spicy but not murderous, use Tapatillo hot sauce instead of Tabasco, or use less Tabasco.