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Wow what a seeming strange topic to talk about. Warm Salads, like Hot Bacon Dressing Salad, or Wilted Salad, are just a couple.
The reason for a warm salad is two fold. Warm actually is a choice by some chefs because you can taste flavors better at this temperature. The other is that many salads have a thicker leaf, and have some stronger tones as well as mild and the warm dressing will give a balance and mellow those flavors.
Why would anyone put a hot dressing on lettuce?
Many greens have a heartier texture and bolder flavor including some bitter tones. A simple creamy dressing or vinaigrette, or poppy seed dressing leaves doesn't balance the flavors of the greens. I remember some fresh lettuce from the garden I picked and we were having dinner with my brother and sister in law and I asked how the lettuce was and she said it was a bit bitter. I realized I had served my Mesclun greens that are inherently stronger in flavor, with just a plain vinaigrette.
greens from my winter garden, endive, romaine, mustard, gone to seed but stil good. |
romaine, red oak leaf |
What kind of Greens work well with hot or warm dressings?
Romaine, Kale, Endive, Spinach, Chard are a group of greens called Mesclun. These include green or red oak leaf lettuce, romaine, escarole, endive, dandelion, arugula (also called rocket) just to mention a few. All These greens have a hearty texture and include some stronger flavors including bitter.
When did People Start Making Warm Salads?
People in ancient times gathered greens in wild and they most were likely these stronger flavored types.
Some of the first cultivated greens were from the Romans, hence the name Romaine lettuce. Years ago romaine or cos had a milky sap when the rib is cracked open. This milky latex sap is called Lactucarium and its root word lactus, lactose , is where the name Lettuce was derived from.
The Romans were most likely the first to have gardens and grow lettuce and are famous for salt brining some of the ingredients that went into their beloved salads and also using some of the strong brine on the lettuce to break it down and make it easier to digest. Salad comes from the root word salt.
Here is a recipe for a warm salad written from the book "A Forme of Cury" 1390
This is a recipe for a warm salad and you can translate some of the items, like onions, leeks, borage, mint, rosemary, fennel and in the directions you can see that someone has translated the words to warm and brown.
What is in hot dressings?
Hot or warm dressings usually have a vinaigrette base, with a sweet and sour component, and often bold flavors like Dijon mustard, and my favorites, onion, shallots and bacon. However the sky is the limit and you can find them in all cultures using indigenous ingredients, for instance an Asian recipe might use sesame oil, soy sauce, rice vinegar and ginger.
What are some famous warm salads?
Wilted Salad or Hot Bacon Salad has been around for centuries but appears on menus for hundreds of years.
It basically comprised of cooked chunks of bacon with vinegar and sugar of some sort to give a sweet and tart flavor.
Bistro Salad as it has come to be know as is famous in French cafe's (Bistros) and is comprised of winter greens, usually lardoons ( unsmoked thick bacon strips) , vinaigrette dressing and topped with a poached egg.
Hot German Potato Salad or just hot potato salad features a similar bacon, onion and vinaigrette dressing to cooked cubes or slices of potato.
Roasted Root Vegetable Salad Since warm salads naturally appeared in fall and winter when that's what was available this salad we can assume goes way back to the begining of any civilization that has a cold winter, grew vegetables and made salads.
Warm Bean or Lentil Salad, Many kinds of beans can work for a warm bean salad, from green to white to lentil. Combine a vinaigrette and fresh herbs and other garnishes and you have a beautiful fall or winter comfort food.
Asian Warm Salads use sesame oil, rice wine vinegar and soy sauce, tamari or miso as components.
Whole Grains Salads This could be barley, Quinoa, Farro, Millet and any vegetables make a good texture similar to a pasta salad.
More Links to Warm Salads
These are from our sister site, Food History Cafe where you can find the recipes and more links to other Warm Salads.
Celebrating Warm Salads Through History, I featured on the meny
for this week in October these salads;
Emma’s Hot Bacon Salad
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Curly Play on Salad Frisee (Frisee aux Lardon , with a poached egg)
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Mesclun Salad
with warm onion dressing Benedict
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Dandelion Salad
With Hot Bacon Dressing, Potato and Boiled Egg
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Warm Butternut Squash Salad
with Winter Greens
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