Thursday, June 16, 2022

Mayfair Salad Dressing

Saint Louis magazine recently published an article by St. Louis Food guru, Helen Fletcher, about the legendary Mayfair Salad and Dressing, the creation of the original Mayfair Hotel in St. Louis. It was one of the original recipes from the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair Exhibition.

The hotel used to sell the dressing by the pint. I well remember my mother, and members of her gourmet group, making the trek to the city in order to stock up. When the recipe was finally published, my mother started making her own. In my estimation, this is one of the best salad dressings around. I tend to vary slightly from the original because I am not a particular fan of anchovies. To me, replacing them with a small amount of anchovy paste makes this dressing absolute perfection.

 The recipe for both my version of the dressing and salad are below. A Mayfair Salad is truly delicious and makes a wonderful light meal. My favorite way to enjoy the dressing, however, is tossed with a bowl of freshly torn, crisp leaves of Romaine lettuce, wedges of hard-boiled egg, and about 2 tablespoons of Italian breadcrumbs. Delicious!

 Mayfair Salad Dressing

  ½ c. coarsely chopped celery

1 small clove garlic

1 small coarsely chopped Melissa’s shallot

½ - 1 t. anchovy paste

½ t. freshly ground black pepper

1 T. fresh lemon juice

 Place all ingredients into a mini food processor or mini ninja blender. Using the processor gives some texture, using the blender will make it perfectly smooth. It’s your choice. Process to purée. Refrigerate for one hour before using. This makes a little bit less than 2 cups; the recipe can be doubled.

Original Mayfair Salad

 Romaine lettuce

Ham, julienne

Swiss Cheese, julienne

Croutons

Mayfair Dressing

 There are no amounts. Use as much or little as desired. 


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7 comments:

  1. I thought I really new salads, but I never heard of this one. Very interesting and your version sounds really good to me.

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  2. Oh, that looks so good - I made a famous salad recipe {Neiman Marcus?} involving anchovie paste for my bridesmaids luncheon many moons ago and it was so good and for some reason I haven't made it since. It was a one and done! So, now I will give this one a try!

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  3. My mouth is watering at 7:00am. I've never bought anchovy paste but I know it is key to that good flavor. Never thought about using breadcrumbs in a salad but by golly it makes perfect sense.

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  4. I will be making this. I have to find a good anchovy paste here local. I'm sure Sprouts or one of the "fancy" stores around here will have a good one for me. I'm excited to give this a whirl!

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  5. Hello....I read your blog very often and find some wonderful recipes! I used to stay often at The Mayfair and fell in love with their salad dressing. Some years later I googled and found the recipe on line but have since misplaced it (after moving back to Illinois when I retired). So thrilled to find you posted it now!! Thank you! They also had the most delicious Steak Diane..YUM!

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  6. Just found the Steak Diane recipe, Lynney62, and plan to try it. It certainly looks easy enough. Thanks for bringing that to my attention.

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  7. If you don't have anchovies, use some Worchestershire Sauce, it has anchovies in it.

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Thank you so much for commenting, I love every one of them! I am, however, unable to respond to anonymous comments.