The article explains why the Philadelphia salad recipe has several versions that are fundamentally different from each other. The step-by-step preparation of each of the most significant variants of this salad is also described in detail.
What links these recipes?
All Philadelphia salad options in the traditions of different countries, taste preferences and moral principles are united by one thing: the presence in it of soft cream cheese, which is prepared from fresh milk with the addition of cream.
Its author is William Lawrence, a farmer from the USA, who really wanted to uncover the secret of creating soft French cheese.
Japanese style salad
This version of Philadelphia salad in taste (and composition) is very reminiscent of well-known rolls with the same name, but its preparation, of course, is many times easier than painstaking folding of boiled rice into a resistant roll with seafood. In order to prepare a salad, it is necessary to prepare the ingredients in such quantity (calculation is indicated for two servings of the dish):
- Cheese "Philadelphia" - 150 grams.
- Basmati Rice - 300 grams.
- One avocado.
- Salted salmon fillet - 200 grams.
- Three fresh cucumbers.
- 50 grams of red caviar.
- 120 grams of soy sauce.
- 1 teaspoon rice vinegar.
- 35 grams of light sesame seeds.
To prepare a Japanese salad with salmon and cheese, first you need to boil the rice, while not making sticky porridge from it, as for rolls, but rather, make sure that it does not boil, while maintaining friability. To do this, before starting cooking, rinse it several times to remove small particles of starch, which create mucus in the grits, and also after heat treatment, boiled rice can be washed with slightly warm water and drained into a colander. When it cools down, add vinegar and mix well for even distribution of the liquid.
Peel the avocado and cut into small pieces, do the same with the cucumber. Salmon fillet should be cut into thin slices, not more than one centimeter in length. Typically, the Philadelphia salad is served in Japanese, laid out in layers in a mold, and then turned over onto a portioned dish. You can go the simpler way and use a small detachable form for cakes (with a diameter of not more than 15 cm), and if it is not in use, then with a plastic bottle of two liters with scissors cut the bottom and narrow part of the top, leaving only a wide, flat part, with this height of the resulting template should be no more than 20 cm and at least eight.
On a serving plate, lay out a few leaves of fresh salad, arugula with petioles to the center and set the shape on top. Then put half of the rice in it with a spoon, squeeze lightly and place chopped avocados and cucumbers on top, laying one layer on another. Then cottage cheese, on top of it salmon fillet and the rest of the rice, which is well crushed with a spoon. Pour soy sauce and sprinkle with eggs, and immediately before serving, remove the form and lightly sprinkle the salad with sesame seeds, heated in a dry hot frying pan.
In Ukrainian
The Ukrainian colleague of lettuce does not even remotely resemble his sophisticated namesake, the only thing that brings them together is the presence of an avocado in the composition and a big name. According to the recipe in the Philadelphia salad, you must:
- 1 avocado, diced;
- 200 grams of good ham, chopped the same way;
- Grate 100 grams of hard cheese on a coarse grater;
- cut two fresh tomatoes into cubes, but you can use a variety of cherry, then just divide them with a knife into halves;
- 400 grams of boiled chicken fillet cut into small cubes, you can lightly sprinkle with black pepper to enhance the taste;
- boil two chicken eggs and cut each into eight parts.
Mix all the ingredients in a salad bowl and pour sauce with 70 grams of vegetable oil and 2 tbsp. tablespoons of mustard (slightly beat the mixture with a fork). Some dress this salad with mayonnaise, but it will be too fat and not quite aesthetically pleasing.
Vegetarian version
Healthy Philadelphia cheese salad is also loved by healthy food enthusiasts: their vegetable interpretation of the dish with light dressing is ideal for a snack and as an addition to the main course, which can be such popular lentil and rice cutlets. Essential Ingredients:
- 130 grams of cheese;
- one at a time: bell pepper and Yalta onion;
- two fresh cucumbers and tomatoes;
- one bunch of lettuce leaves and several sprigs of parsley or dill.
We cut all vegetables and greens into pieces of a convenient size, only we try to chop the sweet onion as thin as possible. Mix the slices in a salad bowl and pour the sauce made from the juice of one lime and two tbsp. tablespoons of olive oil, while adding a pinch of salt and granulated sugar, as well as some spices, based on your taste preferences. Stir the seasoned Philadelphia salad and put the lumps of cheese on top with a teaspoon.
If Philadelphia Cheese Is Not Available?
Given that this brand of cheese is quite expensive, resourceful chefs have found a simple replacement: you need to beat a portion of homemade fat cottage cheese (from whole milk) with a blender into a lush mass with a small amount of fresh cream, turning them into a kind of desired cheese. They say that taste can not be distinguished.