VEGETABLE SALADS

New Zealand Times, Volume LXXV, Issue 5008, 4 July 1903, Page 7 (Supplement)

VEGETABLE SALADS

The making of vegetable salads is so easy, in nearly every case the simple I'ron.oh dressing being all that is required, that every housewife ought to know how to mix it. The French dressing cannot bo improved upon. Pin this recipe over the cooking table and learn it by heart; it may he used for all salads, never deviating from quantities unless you require a salad for eight or ten people when the rule may bo doubled, or may ho divided by two if there aro only two or three people in tho family. This amount will servo from four to six people, according to their appetite. Set a bowl in the refrigerator for half an hour before making the dressing; if tho oil is chilled, too, tho work will bo found easier. Into the bowl pur half a teaspoonful of salt, a quarter teaspoonful of pepper, and turn tablespoonfuls of vinegar; stir till thoroughly mixed, then pour in slowly while stirring constantly with a wire whisk, a quarter of a cupful .of olivo oil. Add a bit of ice as large as a walnut and boat with the whisk till the dressing is as thick as cream. It is then ready to pour over the salad. Vegetables to bo used in salads can scarcely be too fresh. They should he thoroughly washed, laid in a basin of ice water and allowed to stand till crisp. Drain them, shako as much water from them as possible, thou dry between towels. Do not add the dressing except in the case of potato salad or in a salad made of cold left-over or tinned) vegetables till just before sending to tho table. Green vegetables will wilt if left to stand covered with dressing. When a number of vegetables are used in tho same salad, but with tho greatest care in keeping them separate when ip the dish, each vegetable ought to bo marinated before putting the salad together. MJirmato meaafi pouring French dressing over a salad material and allowing it to become well seasoned before serving. Occasionally the least possible flavour of garlio or onion is required in a salad. For this purpose make what the French call a chapou. Take an iuph of bread crust and rub it with a. clove of garlio or an onion cut in two. and dipped in. salt. Put the orusb in the bottom of the dish before arranging the salad, and there will be an aroma of the herb rather than a flavour.

In nearly every salad lettuce has a place. Gather it early in the morning before the sun is hot, put it in a paper bag and lay in the refrigerator; in a few hours it will be deliciously crisp. When shredded lettuce is called for, tear it with the fingers, as cutting makes it wilt.

Delicious salads may be made from left-over vegetables. If they have the remains of a sauce clinging to them, put them in a colander and set under the cold water faucet to wash it away. Drain and use as if newly cooked for the salad. The only difference is they will require more time to marinate. Handle a salad as gently as possible; never stir materials together or pat or mould into shape, for this will rob the dish of its sightliness and much of its flavour. Toss lightly to mix the dressing with a silver fork, running it quickly around the edge of the dish with the same movement as in cutting the whites of eggs into a cake. Do not stick religiously to one flavour for vegetable salads, try onion one dar garlic another, tarragon vinegar, or chives, or Worcestershire sauce; each flavour is so different that oven when one is limited in material there is still the variety, which is the spice of life. It is a good idea to keep some home-made flavouring vinegar constantly on hand. Spiced Vinegars.—Put two-thirds of a oup of vinegar in a saucepan, add two thick slices of onion, half a teaspoonfui of celery seed, two bay leaves, and half a toaspoonful of black pepper. Boil till reduced one-half,' strain, cool and bottle. A teaspoonful of this added to the dressing for a cabbage salad or cold slaw gives an excellent flavour. Fruit can bo used in the same way, or nasturtium seeds. When making a boot salad, use the crimson vinegar of the pickle to add to the oil instead of plain vinegar. _ Tarragon vinegar, which is expensive in the stores, may he very cheaply made at homo by steeping tarragon leaves in hot vinegar, while six cloves of garlio mashed and added to a pint of vinegar give the garlio flavour excellently. ' Study always the nice look of a salad. For instance, ,a tomato from which the pulp is scooped, mixed with a mayonnaise, returned to the ruddy cup and set on a lettuce leaf, has a decorative possibility, oven if lb does not taste any better than when the tomatoes are sliced and masked jvith a mayonnaise.