A section of a cookbook based on low-carbohydrate meals is devoted to salads that will please the eye and the palate.
The author explains that any greens used in salads must be fresh and cold because “warm, limp greens are unforgivable.”
It should be noted that getting greens well-dried so they crisp properly is a time-consuming task.
Before automatic washers, cooks put washed lettuce leaves in a clean pillow case, secured the end of the case with a knot and twirled the bag over their heads a few times to spin out the water.
When automatic washing machines came along, the bag of leaves was dropped into the machine on a spin cycle for not more than one minute.
After both kinds of spinning, pop the leaves in the pillow case right into the refrigerator to become crisp and cool.
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Cucumber Sour Cream Salad
3 cucumbers, thinly sliced
2 tbsps. chopped chives
pepper to taste
1 cup sour cream
9 bacon slices
Peel cucumbers and thinly slice. Place in a bowl. Mix sour cream with chives and pepper. Add to cucumbers and mix slightly. Refrigerate for several hours.
Cut bacon slices into thin crosswise strips and saute until very crisp. Drain well on paper towels. Set aside.
Wash, dry and crisp large lettuce leaves and place on individual plates. Top with cucumber and sour cream mixture and sprinkle with crumbled bacon bits. Makes six servings.
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Marinated Mushroom Salad
1/2 lb. fresh button mushrooms
1 sweet onion, thinly sliced
1/3 cup salad oil
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tbsps. minced parsley
1/4 cup tarragon wine vinegar
1 drop Tabasco sauce
1/2 tsp. salt
1 head iceberg lettuce, chilled
Rinse mushrooms and pat dry. Combine with sliced onions in a salad bowl.
Mix the oil, garlic, parsley, vinegar, Tabasco and salt and pour over the mushrooms and onions. Mix gently, cover bowl and allow to marinate for at least four hours in a cool place.
Just before serving, break the cold and crisp lettuce into the bowl and toss together with the mushroom mixture.
Serve immediately on chilled salad plates or in small bowls. Refrigerate any leftovers.
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Tomatoes With Crabmeat Filling
4 large and firm garden-grown ripe tomatoes
2 tbsps. sour cream
2/3 cup mayonnaise
4 tsp. chopped capers
4 stalks celery, chopped and minced
1 large can king crab meat
black olives, optional
Scroop seeds and pulp from centre of the four tomatoes. Turn upside down to drain.
Combine mayonnaise, sour cream, capers and celery in a mixing bowl. Add crabmeat and toss gently.
Sprinkle inside of tomatoes with sea salt. Fill with crabmeat mixture and garnish with olives. Note: for a different taste, at the last minute stir the tomato seeds and pulp into the crabmeat and sour cream mixture before scooping into the tomato shells. Chill a bit before serving.
Joyce Walter can be reached at [email protected]
