Childhood Memories ... and a Salad Recipe

Do you have childhood memories? Remembering days when you were with your grandparents? Meals you had with them? The sense of a smell? I have many: I remember the scent in my beloved grandfather´s rose garden, the smell of cold cellar rooms on a warm summer day and that of a freshly baked cake in grandmother´s kitchen.

Another droll memory is eating mixed salad in a restaurant in the countryside – the one that contains at least 5 – 6 different salads – as a side dish. I have had many. Most were jarred and awful and came from the next supermarket. In our days there are so many starred restaurants in the countryside, where they produce everything themselves – from the freshly baked bread to jam and even to the mustard. Salad is made from fruits in the own garden, a mixed salad has become a signature meal. Do you know how many different salads make a mixed salad, which is a kind of surprise like an Easter nest? You only see the leafy greens, maybe some radishes. The real salad surprise is under it.

• Ingredients (as much as you like for as many persons you want to serve)

• lettuce and/or rocket salad
• radishes
• tomatoes and onions
• cucumbers and garlic
• cooked potatoes and onions
• coleslaw (!!! – self made, a delicacy)
• beans and/or green beans and onions
• salt, pepper
• oil, vinegar

Prepare the salads separately: start making the coleslaw which should sit the longest time. You find a recipe here (with carrots and curry), the classic Austrian coleslaw is without carrots and without curry I used in this recipe.

Cook and peel potatoes, cook beans and green beans. Wash the leafy greens, slice cucumbers and cooked potatoes, cut tomatoes and green beans.

Prepare lettuce/rocket salad, cucumber salad (with or without garlic) as well as potato, tomato, bean and green bean salad in different bowls, adding cut onion pieces or rings to the last four and a vinaigrette to any of them.

Put the salads onto the plates, one by one, for the number of persons to be served: begin with potato salad, coleslaw, bean and/or green bean, tomato and cucumber salad. Cover with the leafy greens and finely cut radishes. Enjoy with fresh bread and a glass of wine.

We had this super delicious and fresh salads here, in one of our favorite restaurants in the South of Styria. Since this year they have been offering most delicious vegan/plant based meals.