Family is so important and sharing things with your loved ones is a great way of connecting with them. Sharing a recipe, giving some hand-me-downs, lending a hand, giving support are all ways of saying “you are important to me” and they help to strengthen family bonds and relationships.
This recipe was given to me by my sister-in-law and it’s become one of our family favourites for picnics, celebrations and whenever a special salad is required. It’s not a modern salad and there are many versions of this out there – “it’s an oldie but a goody” as they say and will be on the menu at our family’s Christmas lunch again this year. To not serve it would be sacrilege.
The Layered Garden Salad does take some preparation, but it’s well worth it. Some of the preparation can be done before time. After all, Christmas Day should be about relaxing and spending time with family and friends.
This salad uses simple ingredients. It can (and should be) prepared ahead of time. You can also swap out ingredients if you dislike one of them. t’s versatile like that. Make it your own. I usually swap out the mushroom for asparagus as some in my family don’t like raw mushrooms.
This is best served in a glass bowl so you can see the layers. A bowl with straight sides is best but any glass bowl will do.
The sauce, or dressing is truly amazing and I quite often make it and use for other salads. It’s also great on a sandwich with a bit of ham or chicken. I’m sure it will become one of your favourite sauces too.
Layered Garden Salad
Ingredients
Salad
- 2 cups frozen peas
- ½ head iceberg lettuce, shredded
- 3 bunches asparagus chopped and blanched until just cooked, or 250g button mushrooms, sliced
- 3 boiled eggs roughly chopped
- 3 cups tasty cheese grated
Dressing
- 250 g sour cream
- ¼ cup whole egg mayonnaise
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 2 tbsp chopped chives
- Salt & pepper to taste
Decoration
- 1 rasher bacon chopped & fried until crispy
- 1 tbsp chopped parsley
- 3 tomatoes cut into wedges
Instructions
Salad
- Place the frozen peas in the bottom of the glass salad bowl. Level them off.
- Place the lettuce on top of the peas. Level it off.
- Place the asparagus or mushroom over the top of the lettuce. Level it off.
- Place the egg over the top of the asparagus or mushroom and level it off
- Spread the grated cheese over the top and level it off.
Dressing
- Mix all ingredients together and spread over the top of the salad.
To Decorate
- Place tomato wedges around the edges of the bowl
- Pile the fried and cooled bacon in the centre of the salad
- Sprinkle the parsley on top and refrigerate the salad for at least 2 hours before serving.
