Beet Salad
6-8 small to medium size beets-the best beets for tis salad are the small size.
1 head of lettuce- Iceberg lettuce will do fine
1-3 hard boiled eggs
2 cups of boiled salad dressing
2 Tablespoons of vinegar or 2 Tablespoons of fresh lemon juice
1 pinch of freshly grated horse radish- this may be omitted
1 pinch of salt or to taste
1 pinch of black pepper
1 medium apple- the red one, semisweet works fine
2 Tablespoons of mayonnaise
Boil your beets in lightly salted water. We prefer to boil our beets in pure water,- boil them unpeeled, until they are soft. Let your beets cool down and peel them. Slice them into fine slices- the finer they are, the nicer your salad will look. The best way to slice the beets for this kind of salad- to slice them with mandoline. Arrange the slices of cold boiled beets onto the crisp, soaked in cold salty water lettuce leaves. Sprinkle them with finely chopped hard boiled egg, and splash them with the lemon juice or vinegar and serve with boiled salad dressing. If preferred- on the top of the beets- sprinkle the horseradish, diluted with 1/2 cup of water and 2 Tablespoons of mayonnaise. And add the coarsely grated apple into the center, on the top of the finely chopped hard boiled egg. The dish looks very festive. You may add a pinch of salt and a pinch of ground black pepper into the horseradish or onto the beets directly.
THIS SALAD IS TRADITIONALLY SERVED WITH THE BOILED MEAT- ANY KIND OF THE BIG CHUNK OF BIG MEAT- AND NO POTATOES ARE SERVED AT THE SIDE. A VERY OLD BRITISH RECIPE- ONLY ROOTS WITH THE BOILED MEAT. THE FIRST CHOICE OF MEAT IS OF COURSE- THE LAMB, BUT WE RARELY WENT FOR THAT- USUALLY WE USED THE BIG CHUNK OF BEEF BOILED WITH PEPPER AND ONION IN SALTY WATER AND SERVED THIS MEAT WITH THIS SALAD.
OF COURSE- THE SALAD WAS NOT THE EASY THING TO UNDERSTAND AT FIRST- THE SUBTLE SWEETNESS OF THE BEETS WE WANTED TO HAVE WITH A SPLASH OF ACIDULEE APPLES OR THE LEMON JUICE, SOMETIMES MY HUSBAND- CALIFORNIAN INDIAN- SPRINKLED THE BEETS WITH CINNAMON- GOES FINE, BUT YOU NEED TO ACCEPT THIS ELEVATED BRITISH AND NORTHERN AMERICAN FAMILY STYLE, WITH A TWIST OF THE CREOLE COOKING. THE BEETS ARE VERY SUBTLE VEGETABLES- THE WAY WE COOKED THEM IN EUROPE WAS QUITE DIFFERENT, THAN THE FAMILIES OF THE USA LOVE THEM- PURE AND NICE TASTE OF THE BEET ROOT.
THIS IS THE TRADITIONAL WAY MY FAMILY PREPARES THE TRADITIONAL BRITISH DISH - THE BEET SALAD, STYLE NEWFOUNDLAND, CANADA AND BALTICS. THIS IS AUTHENTIC PURITAN MEAL OF OUR FAMILY FROM CANADIAN SIDE, PREPARED IN THE EASILY- MAY BE PREPARED IN THE MORNING OF THE EVENT AND PLACED TO CHILL INTO THE FRIDGE. THE LONGER THE BEETS CHILL- THE NICER BLEND OF THE TASTE OF THE BEETS YOU GET, A NICE TREAT OF HOLIDAYS OF OUR FAMILY IN THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA, NORTH DAKOTA, THE GREAT BRITAIN, GERMANY AND LITHUANIA, AS WELL AS THE WHOLE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. THE TRADITIONAL WAY WE COOK THE BEET IS WITH THE SPLASH OF ACIDULEE- APPLE VINEGAR OR THE LEMON JUICE. AS WELL CONSIDERED TO BE THE TRADITIONAL AMERICAN STAPLE OF THE PURITAN FAMILIES, BUT THIS DISH IS AS WELL LOVED BY OUR LUTHERAN AND PURITAN FAMILIES IN POLAND, HUNGARY, AUSTRIA, SWEDEN, LITHUANIA AND WORLDWIDE. HOWEVER, THE HARD LINE PURITANS PREFER THE PURE AND NATURAL TASTE OF THE BOILED BEET SALAD- WITHOUT ACIDULEE NUANCE AND WITHOUT SHARP HORSE RADISH AND APPLE ACCENT. AND THIS IS ONE OF THE MORE FESTIVE DISHES OF THE FAMILY GATHERINGS AND REUNIONS, ESPECIALLY THROUGH AUTUMN- WINTER SEASON, UP TO THE LATE SPRING. THE SPICES THEY MAY BE SERVED WITH, ARE MOSTLY THE BLACK PEPPER AND SALT. GARNI WITH A SLIGHT SPRINKLE OF VERY VERY FINELY CHOPPED DILL- TO AVOID THE UNNECESSARY SHARPNESS AND TO ELEVATE THE NATURAL SWEETNESS OF THE BOILED BEETS, WHICH ARE TRADITIONALLY UNDERSTOOD AS THE SALAD, SERVED ONLY WITH THE BOILED SALAD DRESSING IN OUR BRITISH SIDE OF THE FAMILIES IN THE USA. THE BEET SALAD IS TRADITIONAL STAPLE OF THE WHOLE YEAR ROUND IN THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA, ESPECIALLY IN THE NORTHERN STATES AND IN CANADA, AND IS AVAILABLE IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA FOR MORE THAN HUNDRED OF YEARS.
THE OLDEST TRADITIONAL BRITISH STYLE BEET SALAD IS USUALLY SERVED WITH THE BOILED SALAD DRESSING, AND EVEN THE BLACK PEPPER IS AVOIDED. ONLY A DASH OF FINE SALT IS ALLOWED- IN NO WAY WE EVER USED THE COARSE SALT FOR THIS TYPE OF SALAD.
THIS IS TRADITIONAL RECIPE OF THE GRAND AMERICAN CUISINE.-HISTORICAL RECIPE WHICH DATES 1800DS. THE BOILED BEET SALAD WAS CONSIDERED AS THE SAFE AND SCROMPTUOUS ALL YEAR ROUND DISH, SUITABLE AND ALLOWED FOR THE LITTLE CHILDREN AND TODDLERS, IF THE HEAVY SPICE, LIKE THE BLACK PEPPER, CHIVES, HORSE RADISH WAS AVOIDED.