Step 12: Guest recipe from Katja

Getting back to the Smørgåsbord blogging, at long last! We're no longer working in chronological order, here, but I want to get these guest recipes (this post and the next, lucky step 13) up soon.

This recipe, graciously provided by the aforementioned Katja, is a beautiful, beige salad. You wouldn't think it would be attractive, but it's all shades of beige, and it's all julienned, and the effect is stunning. I wish I had a picture of it, but by the time Katja, Paul, and the salad arrived, I was up to my elbows in goose fat and taking pictures was beyond me. Just trust me, it was beautiful, and here instead is a picture of its maker.

I'll post the recipe in Katja's own words:

Below you will find the (easy) recipe for the salad I made for your party. It is basically a Wurstsalat but in my family, it has always (or let's say as long as I can think) been called "Lieblingssalat" (=the favorite salad). Of course, you can make this salad and time of the year but in the Zuske family, there are only two times a year when it comes onto the table: Christmas and my brother's birthday. I guess that is why we kids liked it so much - create interest by rarity ;-)

Julienne:

• Hard-boiled eggs
• Berlin- or Spreewald-style pickles
• Apples (Cox Orange Pippin, Braeburn or similar)
• Fleischwurst (or Virginia- or Blackforest-style ham)

For the sauce:

• Mayonnaise, Miracle Whip, and/or yoghurt
• Lemon
• Liquid from the pickle jar
• Salt and freshly cracked black pepper

Basically, you use 1 egg per 1 pickle per 1 apple but in the end, the ratio changes with the size of your ingredients and also your taste, of course.

On Sunday, I used something like 5 eggs, 4 apples, 6 Spreewald pickles and about a half inch slab of Virginia-Style ham, mixed with 3 table spoons of mayonnaise, the juice of half a lemon, and almost half of the liquid in the pickle jar. Again, try and see what you like.

The salad is best the day it's made (although it lasts about a week - well, not in my family...), however, it needs to rest a couple of hours before serving. Right before serving, have a taste, usually, it is good to add some more pepper at that time.

All ingredients are easy to find here. I collected them in my yard and at the Farmer's Market, Trader Joe's and Lunardis. Dittmer's would have been a good source too.

Voila. Easy!

And yummy!