Some things are inherently Southern, like bug zappers, the word ya'll being acceptable in a serious business conversation, fatback, and deviled egg trays. Two other very Southern things are seven layer salad and mason jars, which are perfectly reasonable to combine, unlike bug zappers and moonshine. And combine I did, with the salad and mason jars, I mean. Maybe I'll combine bug zappers and moonshine some other day.
I've never put a salad in a jar because I believe less is more when it comes to dishes that I dirty up. With eating a salad that's been packed in a mason jar, you dirty the jar and a plate or bowl to put it on. But with a regular Tupperware you can just eat right out of it as your desk, like a sad lady who can't go outside because it's pouring rain yet again. This salad is conducive to jarring though, because the ingredients benefit from having the mayonnaise layer spread completely over the rest to "seal" it in. I was worried about the lettuce wilting and being gross the next day but this came out as fresh as it was when I put it in the day before (even after a photo shoot outside that afternoon!)
There's an art to layering the seven layer salad though, you can't just go all willy-nilly. Whether you put it in a traditional trifle dish to share with a group, or in a jar to eat at your desk,
Individual Seven Layer Salad in a Mason Jar
Ingredients
- ¼ cup red onion finely diced
- 1 cup shredded romaine lettuce
- ⅓ cup fresh green peas
- ¼ cup diced tomato
- ¼ cup shredded Cheddar cheese
- ¼ tsp ground black pepper
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- 2 bacon strips crumbled
Instructions
- Layer in the ingredients as follows: lettuce, peas, red onion, tomato, cheese.
- Use a spoon to spread the mayonnaise from edge to edge in the jar, “sealing” in the other ingredients. Add black pepper to top if desired.
- Chop bacon if needed and store in a separate container to preserve freshness. Put the lid on the jar and store the salad in the fridge overnight for best results.
- When it’s time to eat the salad, turn it out onto a large plate or bowl and mix well. Sprinkle with the crumbled bacon.
And this is what it looked like as tweeted from my desk the next day.
There are probably as many versions of this as there are old church ladies down here, so if you've got a different version what do you put in yours?