Vegetables Salads

salads

(from The Practical Housekeeper: A Cyclopaedia of Domestic Economy, edited by Elizabeth Fries Ellet, 1857)

Ingredients:

coss-lettuce​

blanched endive​

1-2 heads of celery​

a couple of anchovies​

several chives, or young onions​

Instructions:

Coss-lettuce and blanched endive make the best salad, the green leaves being stripped off, and leaving nothing but the close, white hearts, which, after being washed and placed for an hour or two in cold water, should be wiped quite dry. To this should be added a head or two of celery, a couple of anchovies (which are far preferable to the essence), and several chives, or young onions, all cut small, while the lettuces should be divided lengthwise into quarters, and cut into rather large pieces.​

Photo by Dwight Sipler, CC-2.0​

 

[Anna Elizabeth Henry]

Sounds good! A nice vinaigrette would be a great accompaniment to this kind of salad. I'd toss some olives in as endives and anchovies go great with olives.

 

[nitrofd]

Big fan of olives in salads.

 

[Jimklag]

Sounds good! A nice vinaigrette would be a great accompaniment to this kind of salad. I'd toss some olives in as endives and anchovies go great with olives.

There is a restaurant near me that has a great lemon vinaigrette that would be really good.

 

[WJC]

Love Cos aka Romaine. Only lettuce we've used for years.
But a period question. I notice some suggesting adding other ingredients. Were olives- which I dearly love- widely available to Americans ca 1857?

 

[JohnW.]

Anchovies would be the bomb diggity

 

[donna]

This salad sounds delicious. I will check on Olives. Know they been around for centuries.

 

[Anna Elizabeth Henry]

Love Cos aka Romaine. Only lettuce we've used for years.
But a period question. I notice some suggesting adding other ingredients. Were olives- which I dearly love- widely available to Americans ca 1857?

Had to dig up an online resource as I know I've seen olives mentioned in 19th cookbooks. Leave it good old Mrs. Beeton and her book of household management from circa 1850 to provide a recipe for salad containing not only olives, but anchovies too! It's a recipe for potato salad -

1154. INGREDIENTS.—10 or 12 cold boiled potatoes, 4 tablespoonfuls of
tarragon or plain vinegar, 6 tablespoonfuls of salad-oil, pepper and
salt to taste, 1 teaspoonful of minced parsley.

Mode.—Cut the potatoes into slices about 1/2 inch in thickness; put
these into a salad-bowl with oil and vinegar in the above proportion;
season with pepper, salt, and a teaspoonful of minced parsley; stir the
salad well, that all the ingredients may be thoroughly incorporated, and
it is ready to serve. This should be made two or three hours before it
is wanted for table. Anchovies, olives, or pickles may be added to this
salad, as also slices of cold beef, fowl, or turkey​

 

[donna]

Anna Elizabeth glad you found recipe.

Thomas Jefferson tried to grow olive trees at Monticello. They didn't do well but he imported olives and olive oil for all his years. He said: "The olive tree is the richest gift of heaven". He served them to friends and members of Congress..

 

[WJC]

Had to dig up an online resource as I know I've seen olives mentioned in 19th cookbooks. Leave it good old Mrs. Beeton and her book of household management from circa 1850 to provide a recipe for salad containing not only olives, but anchovies too! It's a recipe for potato salad -

1154. INGREDIENTS.—10 or 12 cold boiled potatoes, 4 tablespoonfuls of
tarragon or plain vinegar, 6 tablespoonfuls of salad-oil, pepper and
salt to taste, 1 teaspoonful of minced parsley.

Mode.—Cut the potatoes into slices about 1/2 inch in thickness; put
these into a salad-bowl with oil and vinegar in the above proportion;
season with pepper, salt, and a teaspoonful of minced parsley; stir the
salad well, that all the ingredients may be thoroughly incorporated, and
it is ready to serve. This should be made two or three hours before it
is wanted for table. Anchovies, olives, or pickles may be added to this
salad, as also slices of cold beef, fowl, or turkey​

Thanks for your response and yet another yummy recipe!

 

[donna]

Here is thread by Albert on early salads.