Recipe

Amy’s simple salad vinaigrette

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Photo by AppleAnnie

This recipe was entered in the contest for The Best Recipe or Technique Your Mother Taught You
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AppleAnnie's Notes: My mother was born in 1922 and lived through the Great Depression. Her cooking was simple and practical. She taught me to make a dinner salad when I was eight years old because in our house...
My mother was born in 1922 and lived through the Great Depression. Her cooking was simple and practical. She taught me to make a dinner salad when I was eight years old because in our house, the child who set the table was expected to make the salad too. The daily salad contained iceberg lettuce, carrots, celery, cucumber and tomato, and was dressed with made-from-scratch vinaigrette. Here is Amy’s 20th century recipe (ca 1956), followed by my twenty-first century variation.

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Serves 4-6

Amy’s recipe, ca 1956:

iceberg lettuce, torn or shredded Ask a question about this ingredient

thinly sliced carrot, cucumber, celery Ask a question about this ingredient

tomato cut into eighths. Ask a question about this ingredient

1/2 cup vegetable oil Ask a question about this ingredient

1/4 cup white or cider vinegar Ask a question about this ingredient

1 teaspoon sugar Ask a question about this ingredient

1/4 teaspoon salt Ask a question about this ingredient

Put the vegetables in a wooden salad bowl.
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Pour the dressing ingredients on top
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Toss until vegetables and salad dressing are well mixed.
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Twenty-first century, updated version:

Lettuce from the farmer’s market Ask a question about this ingredient

Crisp seasonal vegetables, shredded or diced: radish, cucumber, turnip, parsnip, carrot, beet Ask a question about this ingredient

Fresh garden tomato or seasonal fruit (strawberries in spring, apple, pear, or mandarin orange sections in late fall and winter) Ask a question about this ingredient

1/2 cup olive oil Ask a question about this ingredient

1/4 cup Balsamic vinegar Ask a question about this ingredient

1 teaspoon maple syrup Ask a question about this ingredient

1/4 teaspoon sea salt Ask a question about this ingredient

Whisk the dressing ingredients in the bottom of a wooden salad bowl.
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Add the vegetables and fruits.
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Mix until all ingredients are well coated with the vinaigrette.
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6 Comments on Amy’s simple salad vinaigrette

Lizthechef added over 2 years ago

What a walk down memory lane - I dreamed about my Mom all night long, me a former table-setter and salad maker :)

gluttonforlife added over 2 years ago

In our house, too, the child who set the table also had to make the salad! So wonderful to remember how they gave us our start...

MrsWheelbarrow added over 2 years ago

As I read your recipe, my mouth started to water! I loved that old sweet and sour dressing. And your new, updated version looks great!

AppleAnnie added over 2 years ago

I never thought of the dressing as sweet and sour, but that is a good description. Hungarian cucumber salad and German potato salad have a similar dressing, without any mayonnaise or any thing creamy.

drbabs added over 2 years ago

My mother used to make a salad of a 1/4 head of lettuce with thousand island (remember that?) dressing. Apparently iceberg lettuce is making a comeback. See http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/07/dining/07mini.html?ref=dining.