Favorite salads!

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Loaded Pasta Salad ... I'll stop now ...
 
I can always change it to Ceviche Salad if you want what I mean clarified further?!
No, no, no - it's not important to "classify" it. I'll leave that to Larousse Gastronomique. :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: There are, as you can imagine, lots of Ceviche experts here, so there are a bundle of recipes, but in its simplest form, ceviche is fish pickled with lime juice and served with red onion, coriander leaf, ají (hot pepper) and a side of sweet potato. A friend of mine spent 6 months in Peru learning about all the ceviche options / some are fascinating!
 
No, no, no - it's not important to "classify" it. I'll leave that to Larousse Gastronomique. :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: There are, as you can imagine, lots of Ceviche experts here, so there are a bundle of recipes, but in its simplest form, ceviche is fish pickled with lime juice and served with red onion, coriander leaf, ají (hot pepper) and a side of sweet potato. A friend of mine spent 6 months in Peru learning about all the ceviche options / some are fascinating!
Cold limey fish, red onion, pepper and coriander leaf sounds like.. salad!
 
Kidney bean & Cannellini Bean Salad
String bean or broccoli salad
Pasta Salad (no mayo)
 
I didn't get that distinction, but maybe. 🤷‍♂️
I suppose everyone has a different concept of "salad", and I tend to agree with you.
We always had "salad" for Saturday dinner, back in the 50s, 60s and 70s, and it usually involved lettuce, tomatoes (if in season), cucumber, cooked potato, pickled onions, pickled beetroot, pickled cabbage and cheese. ALWAYS dressed with Heinz Salad Cream.Once the UK started recovering from WWII rationing, then we'd get wierd things like "bell peppers" and "sweetcorn" and "coleslaw" :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:
Then, when I went up to Uni, all sorts of strange items appeared, like raw broccoli, raw cauliflower, grated beetroot, spinach, chicory leaves...:hyper::hyper::hyper::hyper:and all dressed with some curious thing called "vinaigrette"...
First time in the USA, in 1974, we travelled to 24 cities in 25 days, and the hotels (ie. Holiday Inn, Ramada Inn, etc!) used to serve "Chef Salads", which we absolutely freaked over. What's more, there was a choice of "French, Italian or Thousand Island Dressing". It was also the first time I'd encountered "Pasta Salad" or "Rice Salad". Odd, I thought, eating cold pasta, but what the heck if it tastes good.
About 20 years ago, I remember reading an article in the NY Times where 10 US chefs invited 10 Chinese chefs to spend 2 weeks in the USA, and then the visit went to China. The Chinese chefs couldn't get their heads around American Salad. How could anyone possibly eat raw vegetables??
Since I'm a great fan of creativity and innovation, I thought I'd look up definitions of "Salad", just to see whether the word has become antiquated.
OED: a cold dish of various mixtures of raw or cooked vegetables, usually seasoned with oil, vinegar, or other dressing and sometimes accompanied by meat, fish, or other ingredients.
Merriam Webster:
any of various usually cold dishes: such as
raw greens (such as lettuce) often combined with other vegetables and toppings and served especially with dressing
, OR: small pieces of food (such as pasta, meat, fruit, or vegetables) usually mixed with a dressing (such as mayonnaise) or set in gelatin

Larousse:
  • 1. Terme générique désignant certaines plantes potagères feuillues (laitues, chicorées, cresson, mâche, pissenlit).
  • (A generic term for certain leafy garden vegetables such as lettuce, chicory, watercress, lamb's lettuce, dandelion):hyper:
  • 2. Plat composé de feuilles de ces plantes crues et assaisonnées.
  • (Dish composed of the above plants, raw and seasoned)
  • 3. Mets composé de légumes, de viande ou de poisson assaisonnés généralement en vinaigrette.
  • (Dishes composed of vegetables, meat or fish, usually seasoned with vinaigrette)
Interesting, eh? I think "salad" perhaps needs re-defining.
 
I like the new-ish term, word salad. It is generally used to describe what politicians say when asked a question they are not prepared to answer.

Uh oh, I hear the 🚁 hovering.

CD
 
Around where I live, “salad” means lettuce, other raw vegetables, some cheese, and maybe some cold cooked chicken or steak, and a salad dressing.

Say, “Are we having salad tonight,” it would be understood that it means something in the above-mentioned family.

That means, as hardcoded into Midwest American food culture as it is, potato salad is not “salad,” and tuna salad (like for sandwiches) is not “salad,” and pasta salad is not “salad.”

To further expand on the hypothetical question above, this exchange would be perfectly acceptable and understood here:

“Are we having salad tonight?”
“No, we’re having sloppy joes and potato salad.”

Where my wife is from, what we call “salad” here would be further specified as “lettuce salad.” I have to admit that in our early days of dating, I’d grit my teeth every time my future MIL would ask, “Anyone want a lettuce salad with dinner tonight?” - I’d mutter under my breath, “It’s ‘supper’ and what other kind of ‘salad’ is there?!” :laugh:
 
In Dutch we got "sla" meaning lettuce and "salade" meaning salad
Seems to point at dressed lettuce being the initial salad, which then evolved further...
These days I don't know what salad stands for anymore esp since I've seen some warm salads..
 
I can't help but think that we are, perhaps, over-thinking this?

Hey Puggles, you asked a question, we gave you answers, and you never posted on this topic again. Are you toying with us? :popcorn:

Yes, we know you didn't actually "start" this thread, but the mods decided to do that for you. That's how they roll. :laugh:

CD
 
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