Now that you've indulged in a three-day carnivorous celebration, you may wish to spare a thought for your own intestines, liver and heart. Fresh cooked kaleji, grilled botis and roasted raans are difficult to resist, but adding a bit of variety to the feast by including some equally scrumptious-looking salads will provide much needed relief to the digestive system. There are a number of options from around the world to choose from.
Hail Caesar
Named for its creator Italian-American chef Caesar Cardini, the Caesar salad is said to have been first made in Tijuana, Mexico over a busy Fourth of July weekend in 1924. Caesar’s kitchen was running short on supplies so he concocted a salad from whatever ingredients were at hand.
The original recipe had whole leaves (not chopped) of romaine lettuce roughly tossed with olive oil, grated parmesan cheese, garlic-infused olive oil, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper and coddled eggs. And croutons of course, lots of oven-toasted crunchy croutons.
Mrs Wallis Simpson, who adored the salad, is credited with making it popular all over Europe by demanding it at every restaurant she visited with her husband, Prince Edward VIII of Wales.
Made in Moscow
Smoked duck and caviar shared space with capers and crayfish tails in the first Olivier salad made in the pre-Revolution era by celebrated chef Lucien Olivier at Moscow’s Hermitage restaurant.
Today it is better known as Russian salad and is much more humble in terms of its ingredients: diced boiled potatoes, carrots, peas, eggs, as well as apples, celery, onion and pickled cucumbers all dressed with mustard and mayonnaise.
A must-have dish at New Year Eve dinners all over Russia, the ‘ruska salata’ has also proved to be a favourite in Eastern Europe, Turkey, Iran, as well as Pakistan.