Miss Spencer’s Vegetable Salad

This recipe has the name of Vegetable Salad, but it is really a potato salad.  One thing I find interesting is that the dressing is a roux rather than the mayo dressings I’m used to having.

Potato Salad Recipe

Eight cold boiled potatoes, but in dice; 3 cold cooked beets, also cut up in dice; 6 or 7 radishes cut in fancy shapes; also a few stuffed olives.

Dressing – Four tablespoons of butter, 1 tablespoon flour, teaspoon salt; also 1 tablespoons sugar, 1 heaping teaspoon mustard, speck of cayenne, 1 cup milk, 1/2 vinegar and 3 eggs.

Let the butter melt in a double boiler, then stir the flour into it until smooth.  Then add the milk and let them boil.  While these are cooking mix the eggs (well beaten), salt, pepper, sugar, mustard and vinegar together, and stir into the boiling mixture.  When it thickens it is ready to use.

Put the potatoes into half of the dressing and let stand 3 hours; then put them on the lettuce and pour over half the remaining dressing; add the beets and olives and the rest of dressing.  Then place radishes around the edges to garnish.  Let these stand about 30 minutes and they are ready for use.  Very tasty with cold meat.

Miss Mildred Spencer, Readville – Boston Post – 28 Feb 1904

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Potato Salad by Miss Spencer

A potato salad recipe from 1904

Course Salad

Cuisine American

Prep Time 3 hours 30 minutes

Servings 8

Ingredients

• 8 ea potatoes boiled, cold and diced
• 3 ea beets cooked, cold and diced
• 6 ea radishes for garnish
• 8 ea stuffed olives as many to suit taste
• 4 tbsp butter
• 1 tbsp flour
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp mustard
• 1 pinch cayenne pepper
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup vinegar
• 3 ea eggs well beaten

Instructions

1. Let the butter melt in a double boiler, then stir the flour into it until smooth.  Then add the milk and let them boil.  While these are cooking mix the eggs (well beaten), salt, pepper, sugar, mustard and vinegar together, and stir into the boiling mixture.  When it thickens it is ready to use.

2. Put the potatoes into half of the dressing and let stand 3 hours; then put them on the lettuce and pour over half the remaining dressing; add the beets and olives and the rest of dressing.  Then place radishes around the edges to garnish.  Let these stand about 30 minutes and they are ready for use. 

Recipe Notes

Very tasty with cold meat.