Seven Layer Salad

I pulled this dish from the family archives for a fall picnic recently. I was bored with the usual pot luck food I bring along. The card filed in my recipe basket looked pristine–the index card was still snowy white, the corners a sharp 90 degrees, and the ink unblemished. When was the last time I made this recipe? My husband and two daughters, ages 12 and 10, couldn’t remember eating this before. Really?! That means it’s been at least a decade since I made Seven Layer Salad.

My grandmom made this salad every picnic and family reunion. It really was one of my childhood favorites. It’s the only time I liked peas! My favorite part of the dish was a good spoonful of the hard boiled eggs, mayo, and peas. Yes, this is a salad because there is lettuce as the base. Now it may be iceburg, but the crunch of this variety is needed to hold up to the heartiness of the other ingredients. The more so called healthier leafy options, such as arugala, dandelion leaves, or baby spinach, will just form soggy green clumps in the bottom of the bowl.

I have often wondered if Seven Layer Salad is, indeed, a salad. According the Merriam-Webster online dictionary in Section 1-a, my grandmom’s recipe qualifies:

Definition of salad

1: any of various usually cold dishes: such as a: raw greens (such as lettuce) often combined with other vegetables and toppings and served especially with dressing

My parents came to visit for a long weekend from Pennsylvania. I made the Seven Layer Salad to have with dinner one night. Their reactions were similar: they couldn’t remember the last time they ate this dish and were so happy to have it served once again.

Like many of my grandmother’s recipes, there are ingredients, but no exact amounts. She always said, “just add some!” It never mattered to her…whatever looked appealing…she knew it would taste delicious.

Recipe: Seven Layer Salad

• Lettuce, preferably iceburg
• Hard boiled eggs (typically 5 or 6)
• Peas (1/2 cup to 1 cup)
• Bacon (6 slices)
• Cheese (1 cup to 1 1/2 cups)
• Mayonnaise (cover the top)
• Scallions

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The basic concept of creating this salad is to gently stack each ingredient one a time in a serving dish. Fill a large bowl with chopped iceburg lettuce. (I prefer to use a clear glass bowl so each layer is visible.) Slice the hard boiled eggs and layer on top of the lettuce. Then layer each of the next ingredients: thawed frozen peas, crumbled bacon, and shredded cheddar. Use enough mayonnaise to cover the salad and sprinkle with scallions. Chill in the refrigerator for a few hours. Before serving, gently mix the salad.