Q about a layered salad

GotGarlic

GotGarlic

New member
Hi, all. We have a holiday party coming up at work Friday, and I'm making a layered salad in a trifle dish. I've decided to make it with Greek salad in ingredients, and can't decide which kind of dressing to make.

I could make a traditional red-wine vinaigrette and dress it just before serving, but I'm afraid it might get a bit soggy.

Or, layered salads are generally made with a seasoned mixture of sour cream and mayo, so I thought I could make tzatziki sauce (Greek yogurt/cucumber sauce, with less cucumber, since that will be in the salad itself, and to make the sauce a bit less runny) and spread it over the top the night before, as with other layered salad recipes I've seen.

The layers will be romaine, tomatoes, cucumbers, yellow peppers (to make it more festive-looking), kalamata olives, feta cheese and dressing, with some tomato slices and chopped green peppers on top for garnish.

Which dressing should I go with? I've never made this before, so I'm not sure what the consistency of the sour cream/mayo dressing is supposed to be.
 
Deelady

Deelady

New member
Flavor wise I personally would prefer a traditional vinegrette type dressing put on at the last second. Tzatziki for me is better as a dipping sauce or condiment....but thats just my prefference :)
Would you be able to bring the dressing in a container seperately and have them maybe add it at the last minute of maybe even allow people to add it themselves individually?
 
High Cheese

High Cheese

Saucier
Any tzatziki the DW ever made was a little on the thin side. Not liquidy thin, but not thick enough to hold together on top of a salad like....say, Maries Chunky Bleu Cheese dressing. lol she makes hers traditionally with drained yogurt.

Maybe place the vinaigrette and tzatziki on the side for people to choose?
 
C

CaliforniaCook

Banned
GotGarlic said:
Hi, all. We have a holiday party coming up at work Friday, and I'm making a layered salad in a trifle dish. I've decided to make it with Greek salad in ingredients, and can't decide which kind of dressing to make.

I could make a traditional red-wine vinaigrette and dress it just before serving, but I'm afraid it might get a bit soggy.

Or, layered salads are generally made with a seasoned mixture of sour cream and mayo, so I thought I could make tzatziki sauce (Greek yogurt/cucumber sauce, with less cucumber, since that will be in the salad itself, and to make the sauce a bit less runny) and spread it over the top the night before, as with other layered salad recipes I've seen.

The layers will be romaine, tomatoes, cucumbers, yellow peppers (to make it more festive-looking), kalamata olives, feta cheese and dressing, with some tomato slices and chopped green peppers on top for garnish.

Which dressing should I go with? I've never made this before, so I'm not sure what the consistency of the sour cream/mayo dressing is supposed to be.
Click to expand...


I have made layered salads (see link I gave charlie D) many times. Use whatever dressing you like, & make the salad the day of the event. I never cared for a sour cream/mayo dressing. I have made a mediterranian layered salad many times. I go with tzaiki (sorry never can spell it), yogurt, dill & lemon juice. Use Greek yogurt. You can find it at most markets or wholefoods. You can just top the salad with the dressing.
 
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Sass Muffin

Sass Muffin

Coffee Queen ☕
Gold Site Supporter
GotGarlic said:
I've never made this before, so I'm not sure what the consistency of the sour cream/mayo dressing is supposed to be.
Click to expand...
GG, I've made a 7 layer salad lots of times for potlucks, and use the sour cream/mayo (tiny bit of mustard) dressing.
I make it pretty thick, then just spread it on top.
The consistency of soft pudding, really.
 
valinkenmore

valinkenmore

New member
I would go with the tzatziki sauce! Just make it thick and you might want to put it on before you go to work that morning. Just a thought my friend! :chef:
 
GotGarlic

GotGarlic

New member
Keltin said:
Yeah, you could make both and pack it in a bunch of little souffle cups with lids. Then everyone just picks a cup to go with their salad, and nothing gets soggy.

Link to: Souffle Cups with Lids.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the idea, Deelady and Keltin. This is for at least 100 people, though, and I'm trying to save time by making something in about a half hour the night before and not have to do anything except maybe dress it the day of. And I've seen people at this event go right by condiments, etc., that are on the side, since there are so many people in line and they all want to find a place to sit down. This is for all the people in a four-story office building; the event takes place on one of the floors, and the people in the offices on that floor open their offices and put tables and chairs in the halls, etc., but of course, there are more and less desirable places to end up :wink:

I think I'll go with the thick tzatziki sauce. I make it regularly, particularly in the summer, and get Greek yogurt at a local Middle Eastern restaurant that has a small market inside it. Thanks for all the tips :smile:
 
High Cheese

High Cheese

Saucier
You could make a real thin layer of cucumber slices from with a peeler or mandolin to keep the tzatziki from oozing down.

Basically run a cucumber through a mandolin then cut into panels, lay the panels don as a layer in the salad like roof shingles and put the dressing on top.
 
Constance

Constance

New member
Be sure and use some Feta Cheese and Greek olives in your salad. If I were you, I would leave the cucumbers out, since you'll have them in the dressing.

I often make layered salads, using just what I have on hand. I use Miracle Whip instead of mayo, as it has a lighter, tangier taste. I usually mix a packet of Italian dressing mix or crumbled bleu cheese in with it. The idea of the mayonnaise (or Miracle Whip) is that it seals the air out, keeping the lettuce and other vegies crisp, so you can make your salad the night before.
 
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