I honestly do not
ever remember having a salad at Trader Vic's. Back in the day, a visit to this
favorite restaurant was all about Suffering Bastards and the Pupu Platter.
These days I find that I crave salads, so the first recipe I tried in my Trader
Vic's cookbook was for the Cosmo Salad. The ingredients are few, the dressing
simple, but combine the two and you have a crunchy and refreshing salad that is
positively addictive. I did all of the prep work, including making the
dressing, the night before, stored everything separately, then mixed it up just
prior to serving.
Not only is it a great, light, delicious salad, but served in
bite-sized portions makes a healthy addition to the usual cocktail party offerings.
Give this some thought when planning for the Super Bowl. A bit of light,
vegetarian fare, would be a welcome addition to the dips, spreads, and saucy
meatballs.
Cosmo Salad
from Trader Vic’s Tiki Party
Makes 5 cups salad,
or 24 servings
4 artichoke bottoms,
cut into ¼” dice
8 ounces button
mushrooms, cut into ¼” dice
6 stalks celery, cut
into ¼” dice
½ teaspoon kosher
salt
½ teaspoon freshly
ground white pepper
Cosmo Dressing
1 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons Dijon
mustard
1 small shallot,
minced
½ teaspoon medium
sherry
24 lettuce leaf
cups, for serving
12 cherry tomatoes, quartered,
for garnish
Chopped chives for
garnish
To prepare the
salad, in a large bowl, combine artichokes, mushrooms, and celery. Season with salt and pepper.
To make the
dressing, in a small bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, mustard, shallot, and
sherry until smooth. Pour over the salad
and toss gently. Taste and adjust the seasoning.
To serve, spoon the salad
into the lettuce cups. Garnish each filled
cup with two tomato quarters and sprinkle with chopped chives. Serve immediately.
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