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valentine-sweetheart salad by lady rose

(2 ratings)
cookinginillinois avatar
Recipe by
Rose Mary Mogan
@cookinginillinois
Sauk Village, IL

I first made this salad years ago when my husband & I were just dating. Now years later, I still make it to say I LOVE YOU. I don't just wait for a holiday or special occassion, I make it quite often & with these step by step instructions you can too. It is quite an impressive presentation. This is a great way to cut back & have a healthy light lunch, or make it smaller as a SIDE SALAD WITH DINNER. It makes an impression & you can add or delete the ingredients that you do not care for. I love salad, & with a presentation like this, I am sure you are bound to win over those that don't

(2 ratings)
yield 2 -4 or more depending on portion size
prep time 35 Min
method No-Cook or Other

Ingredients For valentine-sweetheart salad by lady rose

  • 1-2 pkg
    salad greens of your choice,iceburg,romaine, spinach
  • 1 lg
    carrot, shredded
  • 1 sm
    red onion, cut into thin rings
  • 4 lg
    eggs boiled, (1 per person)
  • 2 md
    tomatoes, cut into wedges
  • 3-4 md
    radishes sliced( plus 1 rosette for each salad)
  • 1 lg
    cucumber, sliced (12 slices per plate for lunch)
  • 1 md
    avacodo (optional) sprinkle with lemon juice,wedges or chopped
  • 1/4 lb
    thin sliced genoa or hard salami
  • 4-6 oz
    chicken breast roll (sliced thin)
  • 6 slice
    cheese, white, yellow, cheddar or your choice of flavor
  • 1 lg
    red bell pepper (cut into strips or shaped as desired)
  • 2-4 lg
    square plates for a lunch(1 for each serving)
  • chopped green onion tops, optional

How To Make valentine-sweetheart salad by lady rose

  • 1
    In a medium size bowl, combine lettuces with shredded carrots, red onions, & diced avacadoes if using. Distribute equally among serving plates.
  • 2
    Cut boiled eggs into wedges or slices. Cut Tomatoes into wedges, cut avacadoes into wedges if you prefer rather than chopped. Make 1 Radish Rosette for each serving plate.You may also use whole black pitted olives if desired.
  • 3
    For the cucumbers With a dinner fork using the tines of the fork run them down the length of the cucumber about 1/4 inch deep into the cucumber. Repeat until the entire length of the cucumber has been completed. Now with a sharp knife, slice cucumber into thin slices, arranging 3 to 4 slices in the 4 corners of the plate. ANOTHER OPTION: Would be to slice thin strips all the way down the length of the cucumber revealing the white flesh of the cucumber,then moving around length of cucumber leaving about a 1 to 1 1/2 inch patch of green on cucumber, then cut away another thin strip of peel away, alternately till the entire cucumber is complete. Then slice and arrange on serving plate or vegetable platter.
  • 4
    To make the Chicken or Salami flower in the center of the salad. (YOU MAY USE ANY THIN SLICED ROUND LUNCHMEAT THAT YOU DESIRE)For the first slice, fold it in half, then fold the half into a quarter. Make a deep well in center of salad greens and place the first folded slice of meat. Repeat this step with the second slice of meat, and so forth and so on, place the second slice NEXT TO THE first slice, THEN REPEAT TILL YOU MAKE A ROUND CIRCLE. Arranging to complete circle. Then add the Radish Rosette in middle of meat flower. Or you may opt to add a whole Black olive in middle of Meat flower, then alternately thru out the flower.
  • 5
    You may then sprinkle a few chopped green onion tops over the flower as a garnish if you so desire.
  • 6
    Then alternate Tomato & Boiled Egg & avacodo wedges around the flower on the bed of lettuce. Serve with your favorite salad dressing if desired.
  • 7
    With a small heart shaped cookie cutter, make heart shaped cheese cut outs from slices of cheese, and arrange on sides of plate between the cucumber slices. Serve immediately or wrap and serve later. Please note you can arrange these items in any pattern you so desire, this is just to give you an idea of what you can do to make your salad more appealing.
  • 8
    Make Rosettes 1 for each serving,add to bowl of cold water, or use Black olives on some as I did. See instructions on rosette in Recipe for Garnishes of Fruits & Vegetables #1 & #2.
  • Last Step: Don't forget to share! Make all your friends drool by posting a picture of your finished recipe on your favorite social network. And don't forget to tag Just A Pinch and include #justapinchrecipes so we can see it too!
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