Hannelore Dittmar-Ilgen - German Family Cookbook: More than hundred traditional recipes

Tomato-Salad

Tomato salad belongs to the most beautiful memories of my childhood. Sometimes I think we do not have this intensive taste of tomatoes nowadays. But maybe this memory is deceptive. By the way I have another story from my childhood about tomato-salad: Covers, please, my little sister demanded when we were eating the salad. In that case she meant the upper and lower cover of the tomatoes, after it was cut into slices. I do not know whether they tasted better or what was the reason of her request. But it increased the amount of salad on her dish.

For the salad cut the necessary quantity of tomatoes in slices or cubes and mix with fresh, chopped herbs. The best choose is dill and chives.

For an onion dressing you combine oil, very small chopped onion, salt, pepper and vinegar or lemon juice. Let the salad not rest for a long time, it will get a bitter taste.

For a garlic dressing mix pressed garlic, milk or cream, salt and pepper.

For a mustard dressing take mustard with cream, curry, salt, pepper and lemon juice. You can add also small chopped rosemary, especially if you have, like me, a large and beautiful rosemary bush in the garden.

Well, today tomato salad tastes also with cubes of soft (white) sheep cheese and basil.

Lamb's Lettuce with Bacon

This winter lettuce is very solid and gets a better and tender taste when arranging it with bacon - a very good combination. For this recipe you can also take winter endive or iceberg lettuce.

Sort the necessary quantity of lettuce, wash and hurl for drying. Then chop onion and garlic very finely, additionally some bacon and bread (all sorts are suitable) into small pieces. Brown all in a few oil, then rest for cooling.

A dressing can be made from lemon juice, salt, pepper and a pinch of sugar and given over the salad. Add the roasted cubes and mix carefully just one moment before serving the meal.

By the way: Lamb's lettuce can be easily sown in the garden starting from July/August. You can harvest it gradually during the whole winter. It is conditionally winter-hard and remains very fresh, even under snow.

Bread Salad

Perhaps this salad was originally meant to make use of old or dry bread or toast in a clever and delicious way. But I have produced this nice salad already so often, that it became an own meal, for which I even buy fresh bread. This salad is extraordinary good, if you mix fresh thyme from the garden in it. Thyme accompanies all meals, which should have an Italian, Spanish or French touch.

What you need: 1 lb. toast or other bread, cloves of garlic, olive oil, iceberg lettuce, 1 small cucumber, 1 red sweet pepper or tomatoes, fresh thyme and maybe lb. (soft) sheep cheese.

Cut the bread into small cubes and roast it in oil together with garlic. Divide the salad into parts, also the cucumber and the pepper or tomatoes, just as you like. By this the salad becomes beautifully colored.

Produce a dressing from lemon juice, salt, pepper and chopped thyme. The salad is sprinkled with the cubed cheese; I offer the dressing separately. Serve the salad immediately before the bread gets muddy.

Addionally, I use fresh picking lettuce or dandelion from the garden for this salad.

Lettuce with Nasturtium

Each year I have green and red lettuce in large quantities in our garden. Sparing the heart of the plant when picking the leaves, it will grow again. The next leaves are frizzier, but in addition a little bitter. Otherwise you can use dandelion or other green lettuce for this recipe. The nasturtium plant flowers at the same time. From both I arrange a very beautiful salad:

I mix leaves of lettuce and nasturtium in good quantities in a salad dish and pour over with a dressing from vinegar, oil, salt and pepper, perhaps some garlic. I decorate the salad with fresh blossoms of the nasturtium. This looks very colorful and naturally, you can also eat them.

As a further salad-ingredient I produce garlic cubes: Divide toast or other bread into cubes and roast them in some oil together with pressed garlic. The cubes should be still hot when mixed under the salad.

I get nasturtium plants from seeds starting in the middle of April. You can choose low or climbing sorts, depending on the location of the plants. The leaves and the beautiful multicolored blossoms can be eaten. All parts taste refreshing, a little bit sharp, but sweet.

I also use the blossoms to put them into a punch and the immature fruits as capers.

Our Christmas Potato Salad

In my childhood we had this special potato salad only at Christmas Eve together with hot small sausages (called Frankfurters). Prepare the salad at noon and give him some time to rest. By this it was just ready for dinner after our Christmas ceremonies.

My sister marks the fact, that she does not like this salad variation up to now. And so there was always a part of the salad without herring for her and my father.

What you need: 2 lb. of potatoes (boiled and peeled the day before), 3 oz. bacon, 1 cucumber (fresh or spiced), 1 onion, 1-2 herring (not too salty), salt, pepper, vinegar and oil, meat or vegetable broth

Cut the potatoes into thin slices, cucumber and herring into small cubes and mix. Chop the bacon and the onion and brown in oil or lard, add beef-tea, season with salt, pepper, vinegar and oil to get a very aromatic dressing. Pour it still warm over the salad.