SEVEN-LAYER SALAD
By Gloria Pitzer, as seen in… Gloria Pitzer’s Cookbook – Best Of The Recipe Detective (Balboa Press; Jan. 2018, p. 36) [A revised reprint of Gloria Pitzer’s Better Cookery Cookbook (Secret RecipesTM, St. Clair, MI; May 1983, 3rd Edition).]
This is a great salad to make for a party or for taking to a potluck since it can be – must be – prepared 24 hours ahead of serving-time.
INGREDIENTS/LAYERS:
a head of finely shredded lettuce
chopped, partially seeded tomatoes
diced, seeded and peeled cucumbers
a package of frozen peas, thawed but not cooked
shredded cheddar cheese
mayonnaise
1-lb bacon, fried crispy and crumbled into bits
INSTRUCTIONS:
Begin with a lightly oiled Pyrex dish, 9 x 12 x 2”. Arrange half a head of lettuce over the bottom of the dish. Sprinkle it with tomatoes, sufficient to cover the lettuce in a single layer. Next, sprinkle on an even layer of cucumbers to cover the tomato layer.
Cover the cucumber layer with peas – the marinating process will soften them nicely. Over the peas, arrange a layer of cheese and, over that, a layer of more shredded lettuce (almost the rest of the other half a head will do.) Finally, apply a 1/2-inch thick layer of mayonnaise to sufficiently cover the lettuce like a finely whipped frosting. DO NOT STIR THIS.
Cover and refrigerate the salad for 24 hours. About an hour before serving, sprinkle the top mayonnaise layer with the bacon bits. Don’t spoil it all with phony bacon bits! To serve, have guests individually spoon out a portion with a large serving spoon – but never try to stir it up! Serves 8 to 10 nicely.
See also…
