Salad

Achicuk salad is a traditional and simple salad originating from Uzbekistan. This salad has many variations, but it is always made with a base of tomatoes and onions. Other ingredients often include thinly sliced chili peppers, coriander, or basil. The ingredients are thinly sliced, seasoned with salt, then served over pilau rice. Achicuk salad is beloved because it's easy to prepare and it makes for a great accompaniment to almost any dish.

Achicuk Salad

Italy

Acquasala is a traditional dish originating from Puglia. This bread salad consists of fresh ripe tomatoes and stale bread or dried biscuits that are soaked in olive oil, tomato juices, and often vinegar. The salad is a classic example of cucina povera. It's usually seasoned with salt and garnished with oregano or basil. Acquasala dates back to the Crusades, and some claim that the locals offered it to warriors who were leaving Puglia by sea. A close cousin of this salad is panzanella, also known as Tuscan bread salad.

Acquasala

Agurksalat is a traditional cucumber salad originating from Norway. This refreshing salad is especially popular in the summer and has many variations. It's usually made with sliced cucumbers, water, sugar, salt, white pepper, parsley, and white wine vinegar. Thinly sliced cucumbers are simply mixed with the dressing, chilled for about half an hour, sprinkled with chopped parsley, then served, often as an accompaniment to fish such as salmon or mackerel. If properly prepared, the salad should be crunchy and have a nice balance of sour and salt with hints of sweetness from the sugar.

Agurksalat

Spain

Ajotomate is a traditional salad originating from the region of Murcia. The salad is usually made with a combination of ripe tomatoes, garlic, red wine vinegar, cumin, piment&oacute;n or paprika, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Using a mortar and pestle, the garlic is mashed with the salt into a paste which is then mixed with chopped tomatoes until well blended. The vinegar, pepper, cumin, and piment&oacute;n are added to the mortar and pounded until smooth. Olive oil is next, which will result in a vinaigrette. The remaining tomatoes are cut into slices, arranged on a platter, and topped with the vinaigrette. Before serving, the salad is sprinkled with cumin seeds.

Ajotomate

Amanida is a traditional salad originating from Catalonia. There is no fixed list of ingredients for the salad because each place (or even household) adds certain ingredients depending on their seasonal availability. It typically consists of vegetables (seasoned with salt, vinegar, and oil) and cured meats and sausages. The ingredients are arranged on a plate so that they don't touch each other. Otherwise, the meat and sausages can become oily if they come in direct contact with the dressing for the vegetables. Apart from the meat and vegetables such as radishes, green tomatoes, spring onions, and bell peppers, the salad also often contains tuna in olive oil, hard-boiled eggs, olives, celery, carrots, watercress, and chicory.

Amanida catalana

Aragosta alla Catalana is an Italian dish originating from Sardinia. The salad is prepared with lobster, tomatoes, onions, oil, and lemon. Depending on the variations, the dish can also contain potatoes, cherry tomatoes, and capers. The lobster is usually boiled and cut into smaller pieces, then mixed with a combination of oil, tomatoes, onions, and lemon juice. This dish is traditionally served hot, and even though it's very simple, some claim it's the most lavish dish in Alghero.

Aragosta alla Catalana

This traditional Romanian dish consists of roasted and peeled red or yellow pointed peppers that can be cleaned and sliced or served whole. While the peppers are still warm, they are doused in a mixture of oil and vinegar and are occasionally topped with sliced garlic. The dish is served lukewarm or well-chilled, and it usually accompanies meat-based main courses, but it can also make for a great snack when served with bread.

Ardei copți

Asadillo manchego is a super-simple Spanish dish originating from La Mancha. The salad is made with a combination of roasted peppers and tomatoes, garlic, cumin, and olive oil. The roasted peppers are peeled and left to cool completely, while the roasted tomatoes are drained, peeled, and crushed in order to make a simple sauce. The peppers are mixed with the sauce, then seasoned with salt and combined with mashed garlic, cumin, and olive oil. It's recommended to serve asadillo manchego with a few slices of rustic bread.

Asadillo manchego

Greece

This simple Cretan dish is prepared with the bulbs of Leopoldia comosa, a plant that typically grows in wild, mountainous areas. When collected, the bulbs are thoroughly cleaned and can be cooked, stewed, pickled, or served fresh, usually dressed up with olive oil and lemon juice or vinegar. The salad version of the dish is mainly enjoyed as a meze or an accompaniment to various meat dishes.

Askordoulakous

Azifa is a popular Ethiopian salad consisting of green lentils, finely chopped tomatoes, and onions. The salad is additionally seasoned with salt, pepper, and lemon juice. When served, it is sometimes garnished with toasted almonds and chopped olives. Azifa is traditionally served chilled, and is consumed as an accompaniment to various meat or fish dishes. It keeps well if refrigerated and can also be used as a stuffing for pita bread.

Azifa

Saudi Arabia

Balilah is a traditional Middle Eastern salad, particularly popular in Saudi Arabia and Syria. It is a simple and healthy snack made primarily from cooked chickpeas. The chickpeas are typically served warm with diced cucumbers and grated beets, and seasoned with a mixture of spices, lemon juice, olive oil, and sometimes garlic and herbs. The core ingredient is chickpeas (in Syria broad beans are also included), which are cooked until tender and then flavored with lemon juice, olive oil, cumin, salt, and sometimes other spices like black pepper, sumac, or paprika. Garlic and fresh herbs, such as parsley, are added for extra flavor. Balilah is usually served warm as a snack or appetizer, often enjoyed as a popular street food and eaten with a spoon or scooped up with bread. It is commonly enjoyed during Ramadan as part of the iftar meal (the meal to break the fast) due to its simplicity and nutritious qualities. It is also a staple at social gatherings and is appreciated for its light, tangy flavor.

Balilah

Betabeles is a traditional beet salad. It's usually made with a combination of beets, sugar, cornstarch, orange juice, lemon juice, grated orange zest, salt, and pepper. The beets are boiled in a saucepan until the skin blisters, and the beets are then drained, cooled, and the skin is peeled off. Other ingredients are mixed in a saucepan and boiled until the sugar and cornstarch dissolve. The beets are added to the pan, the mixture is seasoned with salt and pepper and heated until the beets become hot. This beet salad is served immediately, while still warm.

Betabeles

Blomk&aring;lsalat med reddik is a traditional salad originating from Norway. The salad is usually made with a combination of cauliflower, onions, radishes, and parsley. The cauliflower florets are mixed with sliced onions, parsley, and thinly sliced radishes. The salad is dressed with a mixture of vinegar, mustard, oil, salt, and white pepper. It is left to sit at room temperature for a few hours before serving, so that the flavors blend well. Before serving, the salad is often garnished with chives and sprinkled with more salt.

Blomkålsalat med reddik

Bok l&rsquo;hong, meaning pounded papaya in Khmer, is a Cambodian take on the green papaya salad that is widely consumed throughout Southeast Asia and is believed to have originated in Laos. Like the Lao and Thai versions, the Cambodian papaya salad usually requires the shredded fruit to be pounded with other ingredients, while the Vietnamese variety doesn't involve pounding of the fruit. The salad often contains tamarind, galangal, and prohok, a type of Cambodian fish paste. Bok l'hong can also feature smoked fish or salted crabs, and it is usually consumed with steamed rice and grilled meat such as chicken. One significant difference between the traditional Laotian green papaya salad and the Cambodian version of the salad lies in the use of white fish sauce in the latter instead of the much more pungent fermented fish sauce which is typically used in the former. Just like in Thailand, Vietnam, and Laos, in Cambodia, green papaya salad is available in numerous restaurants and is a common street food item.

Bok l'hong

Byggrynssalat is a traditional salad originating from Norway, but it's popular throughout Scandinavia. It's usually made with a combination of barley, canola oil, cider vinegar, salt, pepper, parsley, chives, chervil, and scallions. The barley is soaked overnight in cold water, and the next day it's rinsed and drained. The soaked barley is cooked in salted boiling water until the grains become tender but chewy. It is then stirred with parsley, chives, chervil, and scallions. The salad is dressed with a mixture of oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper. Once prepared, byggrynssalat can be served chilled or at room temperature.

Byggrynssalat

This Jamaican salad uses callaloo as the key ingredient, a plant that is native to the island. If no callaloo is available, it can be easily replaced by amaranth leaves or spinach. Along with callaloo, the salad consists of boiled and sliced potatoes, sliced cheese, mayonnaise, and a bit of lime juice used for dressing the salad.

Callaloo Salad

Cappon magro is a flavorful seafood and vegetable salad from Liguria served on a hardtack cracker. The salad is visually appealing since the ingredients are traditionally arranged in a colorful pyramid and drizzled with green sauce. Some of the most common ingredients used in cappon magro include lobsters, white fish, carrots, potatoes, celery, olives, capers, and hard-boiled eggs. The dish is usually reserved for special, festive occasions.

Cappon magro

United States

Celery Victor is a vintage American salad prepared by simmering celery hearts in stock, then chilling them before they are dressed with a vinaigrette. The celery hearts are simmered in stock with bay leaves and peppercorns until the celery is barely tender. When chilled, the hearts are dressed with a combination of olive oil, tarragon, parsley, and tarragon white wine vinegar. They are then arranged on a plate or placed on a lettuce leaf and garnished with tomatoes and thin slices of hard-boiled eggs. This simple salad was invented at the turn of the 20th century by chef Victor Hirtzler at the St. Francis Hotel in San Francisco.

Celery Victor

Australia

This refreshing Chamorro salad is best when prepared in hot and humid weather. It is also a staple at most Chamorro festivities and consists of only a few ingredients &ndash; sliced cucumbers, onions, garlic, soy sauce, vinegar, and salt. The salad should be left to rest for a few minutes before serving, so that all of the flavors get combined. It is recommended to serve it with red rice and meat dishes such as barbecued chicken.

Chamorro cucumber slices

A chef's salad is a big salad that is usually served as a meal of its own. It consists of a variety of vegetables, hard-boiled eggs, cheese, and meats such as ham or turkey meat. The salad can be served with a variety of different dressings. No one can agree about the origins of chef's salad, so there are quite a few theories about its invention. Some claim that it originated from salmagundi, a 17th-century dish consisting of anchovies, chopped meat, eggs, onions, and oil. Others claim that Cobb salad was the true inspiration, while most believe that chef's salad was created in the 1940s by Louis Diat, a chef at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in New York City. Regardless of its origins, the salad's popularity lies in the fact that it is both a great way to use up leftovers and a quick, flavorful meal.