Cassell's Vegetarian Cookery: A Manual of Cheap and Wholesome Diet

by A. G. Payne

Dandelion Leaf Salad.—Considering that the root of the dandelion is so largely used in medicine for making taraxacum, it is to be regretted that the leaves of the plant are not utilised in this country as they are abroad for making salad. These leaves can be obtained in London at a few shops in the French colony of Soho. The leaves are washed, dried, placed in a salad-bowl, and dressed with oil and vinegar in the ordinary way.

Cauliflower Salad.—The remains of a cold boiled cauliflower makes a very good salad if only the white part be used. It can be mixed with remains of cold potatoes, some chopped blanched parsley should be sprinkled over the top, and it can be dressed with oil and vinegar in the ordinary way; or it can be served up with a sauce made from oiled butter similar to that described for dressing cold asparagus.

Mustard and Cress.—This is somewhat similar to watercress. When served alone it is generally dipped in salt and eaten with bread-and-butter, but it is very useful to mix with other kinds of salad.

Hop Salad.—In Germany a very nice salad is made from young hops, which are grown very extensively in America and Germany, as English brewers are well aware. The hops are picked when quite young, before they get leafy; they are then boiled till nearly tender. They can be dressed in the English fashion with oil and vinegar, or in the German fashion with vinegar and sugar.

Onion Salad.—Few people are aware of what an excellent salad can be made from the remains of cold boiled Spanish onions. Spanish onions can generally be bought at a penny a pound. They are mild in flavour, very wholesome, and contain a great deal of nourishment. Take a couple of cold boiled Spanish onions, pull them into leaves after they are quite dry, and dress them with a very little oil and vinegar.

Italian Salad.—This is a very delicious salad, met with in Italy. It consists of a great variety of boiled vegetables, which are placed in a mould and served in aspic jelly. This latter, however, is not allowed in vegetarian cookery. A very good imitation, however, can be made as follows:—First take as many cold vegetables as you can, consisting of new potatoes, sliced, and cut up with a cutter into pretty-looking shapes. You can also take green peas, asparagus tops, cold boiled cauliflower, French beans, beet-root, &c. These vegetables should be dressed with a little oil, tarragon vinegar, pepper and salt, and can be placed in a mould or plain round basin. This basin can now be filled up with a little water thickened with corn-flour, hot. When it is cold, it can be turned out and sent to table in the shape of a mould.

Melon Salad.—Melon is sometimes served abroad as a salad, and a slice of melon is often sent to table at the commencement of dinner, to be eaten with a little salt, cayenne pepper, and sometimes oil and vinegar.

Salads, Sweet.—Apples, oranges, currants, pine-apple, and bananas are sometimes served as salads with syrup and sugar. They make a very nice mixture, or can be served separately. When preserved pine-apples in tins are used for the purpose, the syrup in the tin should be used for dressing the salad. Whole ripe strawberries are a great improvement, as also a wineglassful of brandy and a lump of ice.

Sandwiches.—There is an art in cutting sandwiches—a fact which persons in the habit of frequenting railway restaurants will hardly realise. A tinned loaf is best for the purpose if we wish to avoid waste. The great thing is to have the two slices of bread to fit together neatly, and there is no occasion to cut off the crusts when made from a well-rasped tin loaf. First cut off the crust from the top of the loaf, which, of course, must be used for some other purpose. The best use for this top slice is to toast it lightly on the crumby side, and cut it up into little pieces to be served with soup. Next take the loaf, cut off one thin slice, evenly, and let it fall on its back on the board you are using. Now butter very slightly the upper surface. Next butter the top of the loaf, cut another thin slice, and, of course, these two pieces of bread will be perfectly level, and, if the two buttered sides be placed together, will fit round the edge exactly.

Tomato Sandwiches.—Cut some very ripe red tomatoes into thin slices, and cut them parallel with the core, as otherwise you will get them in rings from which the core will drop out. Sprinkle some thin slices of bread-and-butter with mustard and cress, dip the slices of tomato into a dressing made with a little oil, pepper, and salt, well mixed up. Put these between the bread-and-butter, and cut them into squares or triangles with a very sharp knife. These sandwiches are very cool and refreshing, and make a most agreeable supper after a hot and crowded ball-room. If you wish to have them look pretty, pile them up in the centre of a silver dish, and place a few ripe red tomatoes round the base on some bright green parsley. Place the dish in an ice-chest for an hour before it is eaten.