We don't often hear a lot of chatter about salads these days. It's just not a subject discussed in culinary circles or on the Food Network. For we salad lovers, this is a real shame. After all, there's almost nothing more healthy, more versatile, and more satisfying than a perfectly concocted salad.
To rectify the situation, here are 5 Solid Salad Facts to go along with Week 3 of our Salad Days of Summer promo — which this week features a Steak & Shrimp Grilled Romaine Wedge.
1. The term "salad" comes from the Latin word for salt ("sal"). In Roman times, salads consisted largely of salted vegetables glazed with a oil and vinegar dressing. Thus the salt. The French eventually coined the term "salade" which is where we got it.
2. The oldest English language cookbook, The Forme of Cury (written in the 1300's), contains the first known recipe for salad, a brazen little number that called for lettuce, leeks and spinach served with garlic, herbs and flowers.
3. Arguably the most celebrated salad in the world is the Waldorf Salad, originally conceived by Oscar Tschirky, who worked at New York’s Waldorf Astoria Hotel in the 1890s. Tschirky’s original salad contained apples, celery and mayonnaise. The famous walnuts weren’t actually added until three decades later. Today the Waldorf Astoria serves a version that contains sweet and sour apples, candied walnuts, celeriac and truffle. (Bonus fact: Oscar Tschirky also invented Eggs Benedict).
4. Perhaps the most popular salad in the world is The Caesar Salad, and it was invented by restaurateur Caesar Cardini on July 4, 1924 in Tijuana, Mexico. It is said that on this busy weekend, Cardini was running low on food and he put together a salad for his guests from what was left over in the kitchen. "Take everything to the table" he said, "and make a ceremony of fixing the salad". His original recipe included romaine, garlic, croutons, and Parmesan cheese, boiled eggs, olive oil and Worcestershire sauce.
5. The phrase "salad days" has come to mean a "time of youthful inexperience" (or the notion of "green"). It's first recorded use was by Shakespeare in Antony & Cleopatra (1606).
Steak & Shrimp Grilled Romaine Wedge Salad
- Grilled romaine wedge
- 5oz flat iron
- Grape tomato
- Sliced red onion
- 3-grilled shrimp
- Shredded purple cabbage
- Bleu cheese crumbles
- Croutons
WEEK 3: Steak & Shrimp Grilled Romaine Wedge