German Picnic Salad
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A nutritious and wonderfully flavorful salad packed with cheese, beans, bell peppers, tomatoes, corn, and cucumbers, all tossed with a tasty vinaigrette. Reminiscent of some of the salads I grew up with in Germany, this German Picnic Salad recipe comes together in minutes and is perfect to enjoy outdoors on picnics, for your backyard BBQ, potlucks, or under the umbrella on a back porch on a warm summer evening!
To accompany on you for your picnic bring along some German Plum Cake or German Apple Cake for dessert and then wash everything down with a refreshing Apfelschorle!
Though I do try to exercise self-control, I’m a bit of a cheese addict. Growing up in Europe with regular access to the world’s best cheeses rendered me into something of a cheese snob. I can’t help it. The ability to appreciate fine cheeses was cultivated within me from childhood. From my geographical vantage point in southern Germany, I could jump in the car and, within just a few hours in any direction, could be tasting cheese in France, Italy, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Hungary, Switzerland, etc. Then, when I moved to England, I fell in love with English cheddar (what cheddar is supposed to taste like) and a whole variety of cheeses from the British Isles.
Several years ago when we lived in Washington State it was summer and I wanted to put together a picnic to take to a scenic overlook we love at Point Defiance Park in Tacoma. I decided to make a German Picnic Salad featuring, of course, cheese.
Todd and I had a special little spot there that we loved visiting. It’s hidden away and offers the perfect view of the Puget Sound. Elevated up on a ledge that juts out over the water, this secluded spot is the perfect place for a sunset picnic. So for our date night we decided to take our German picnic salad up to that spot while the kids got to have “grandparent fix.”
Gorgeous views from our picnic spot.
And so, with the mood and the setting complete, we pulled out our German Picnic Salad along with some authentic German pretzels from a nearby German bakery. It was perfect.
German Picnic Salad Recipe
Let’s get started!
Place all the cut up veggies, beans, corn, and the cheese in a large mixing bowl.
Chop up some fresh chives, parsley and marjoram.
Note: Fresh herbs are a must for this dish.
Whisk the oil, cider vinegar, salt, pepper, sugar, and mustard in a bowl until emulsified and then add the fresh herbs.
Pour the vinaigrette over the salad.
Stir to combine, cover, and refrigerate for at least 3 hours (the longer the better), stirring occasionally.
Remove the salad from the fridge at least 30 minutes before serving. Enjoy it as a side dish or as a main course served with some crusty bread.
Enjoy!
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German Picnic Salad
Ingredients
- 6 ounces flavorful semi-firm cheese of choice (Gouda, Swiss, Edam, Provolone, Havarti, etc), cut into 1/2 inch cubes,
- 1 large onion , chopped
- 1/2 cucumber , diced
- 1/2 red bell pepper , diced
- 1/2 yellow bell pepper , diced
- 3 Roma tomatoes , diced
- 2 cups finely chopped iceberg lettuce
- 1/2 can drained kidney beans
- 1/2 can drained corn
- For the dressing:
- 5 tablespoons neutral-tasting oil
- 4 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 3/4 teaspoon sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 1/2 teaspoons German or yellow mustard
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
- 1 teaspoon chopped fresh marjoram
Instructions
- To make the dressing, whisk together the oil, vinegar, salt, sugar, pepper and mustard until emulsified. Stir in the fresh herbs.Combine the vegetables, kidney beans, corn, and cheese in a large mixing bowl.Pour the dressing over the salad, cover, and refrigerate at least 3 hours (the longer the better) before serving. Let stand at room temperature at least 30 minutes before serving. Enjoy with some crusty bread.
Video
Originally published on The Daring Gourmet July 17, 2013
Hi, I’m Kimberly Killebrew and welcome to Daring Gourmet where you'll find delicious originals, revitalized classics, and simply downright good eats from around the world! Originally from Germany, later raised in England, world-traveled, and now living in the U.S., from my globally-influenced kitchen I invite you to tour the world through your taste buds!
That Japanese garden is beautiful and looks so peaceful! Looks like I might have to put it on the list of places to visit next time I’m in the area! That salad looks simply delicious, definitely perfect for a picnic.
Point Defiance Park is one of the prettiest in the nation. Definitely worth a visit, Susan!
Sounds delicious! I don’t blame the raccoon either. If I smelled/saw this salad, I’m sure I’d walk over to see what was going on ;)
The entrance of that raccoon was the perfect timing, Brandon!
wow! that salad looks like an entire meal in a bowl! Great picnic dish!
What a beautiful salad! Great setting and I want this and that pretzel right now.
Thanks! I know, I’m pretty much always in the mood for pretzels :)
Such pretty photos! Your picnic is lovely, and the food looks wonderful. I am a total cheese addict too! ;)
Thanks, Faith! The setting at Pt. Defiance Park was absolutely perfect.
Sounds wonderful, and I LOVE the raccoon shots! So cute! I shared this on What a Girl Eats, Pay it Forward Friday, today! Hope you get lots of new likes! :)
Christina, thank you so much!! And thank you also for visiting! I know, that raccoon was so cute – the little guy showed up just in time and gave me all the perfect poses :)
I just made this and wanted to tell you the salad is excellent.
I made just a few modifications. I added a clove of finely minced garlic and omitted the lettuce. I knew we could never eat the salad in one meal and knew the lettuce would wilt a lot by the next day when we had the remainder of the salad for lunch.
I never had marjoram so used fresh oregano from my garden. I did use the chives and parsley and added some fresh basil as well.
So good.
Thx for a great recipe.
Jeanette, I’m so happy you made this and that you liked it!! You know, I thought the same thing about the lettuce when I saw that there were going to be leftovers, but I was happy to find that the lettuce still maintained some of its crisp and the salad overall was even better as the flavors had more time to blend. Another favorite German salad of mine is Wurstsalat – a vinegar/mustard based salad with slices of ham or good quality bologna, Swiss cheese, and onions. Eaten with fresh crusty bread. So good! Again, thanks so much for making this and for your feedback!
I am curious how are you going to get around the spirits needed for some German recipes (like Beef Rouladen)?
I don’t get around it – I use it. Not all Rouladen recipes call for red wine and those that do typically use about 1/2 cup or so. If you’re concerned about cooking with alcohol, wine has a relatively low alcohol content (10-12%). If you figure the amount of alcohol that’s burned off through the cooking process, then divide the recipe up by 4-6 people, each person ends up getting less alcohol than they would from, say, 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract (which is often 70 proof, like whiskey).
I remember the Pudget Sound area… it is very beautiful if you can handle the smell. Did you make the pretzel or did you buy it to accompany the salad? I have been looking for the sodium hydroxide that is used to make the browning on German pretzels but have not had any luck here.
I bought these particular pretzels from nearby German bakery. Ah yes, the “Tacoma Aroma” :) You know, the smell really hasn’t been around in years. The smell was produced by the paper mills (the smell of would being made into paper), and I actually didn’t mind it at all. As for the lye for making pretzels, it’s readily available overseas but I’ve never looked over here. Let us know if you end up finding any!
your picnic dinner looks so scrumptious! . . .what a cute little visitor you had, too :) great pictures of point defiance park. It looks sooo beautiful!!!!
Thanks so much, southernroses! :) I know, the raccoon was so adorable!! I couldn’t believe my luck capturing those perfect little poses, too! It’s funny, because as soon as that one came out, we started seeing them everywhere – like 5 more! I think they all must have smelled the cheese and came out by the herd ;)
I love Cheese, this recipe is going in my book! Oh and I’m a local so I know Pt. Defiance quite well with great sentiment. I had a beautiful small wedding in the corner of the rose garden near the lodge. I joked even the roses knew what color to bloom. :) So glad I found your blog!
Hi Andrea! I’m always so happy to meet other locals! I’m so glad you found my blog, too :)
German Picnic Salad + My “Castello Moment” http://t.co/6USGpYFKTA
Oh that sounds and looks so delicious, what a wonderful post!
Thanks so much, bakeaffairs!!
Where can I buy the cheese?…Thanks for the new recipe..i have been waiting!! :P
Hi Candy! You can find the info on the cheese and a store locator of where to buy it on their website at houseofcastello dot com. And be sure to click on the Castello banner (just before the recipe instruction pics) to enter a drawing to win some free cheese!
Kimberly, it’s Michele again! I subscribed to your blog today and was so pleased to see this one when I checked my mail a few moments ago! To say that I love it would be ridiculous! It brought me to tears, quite literally! The combination of the description of your German heritage and your love of the Pacific Northwest (and the photography!!!) touched my heart!
About Germany… we lived and worked in the Frankfurt area and Bad Homburg. Pros and cons there, but I lost my heart in the Allgaeu, specifically in the little village of Bolsterlang!!! Many vacations there over the years, all etched in my memory forever… And THE best cheese on the planet… Alpenkaese! :)
As for the Pacific Northwest, my younger son and family live in the Seattle/Redmond area. I was able to visit them about a year ago and lost my heart again. Soooooo beautiful! And yes, it reminded me of a great many things I loved in Germany also.
I didn’t intend to write a book, but when I “connect” with someone to this degree, it is not to be ignored. Thank you for doing what you do so very well! It’s truly a pleasure to follow your blog and FB page. xoxo :)
Michele, I am so touched by your kindness and the generosity of your compliments! It’s so wonderful to come across someone who shares not only my passion for good food, but my love of Germany and beautiful landscapes in general. I could write an encyclopedia worth of thoughts about the different towns and areas of Germany I love, let alone all the beautiful places in the world! My mom is from Bavaria, I grew up in Stuttgart (Swabia), and those will always be my favorite areas in Germany in terms of food and landscape. I also lived west of Frankfurt for a while as well as near Hamburg, and each area has its unique beauty and charm. I get so homesick just thinking about it! I guess that’s one of the reasons I live here in WA. The somewhat similar surroundings help ease the longing for my other home.
I am SO happy you’ve subscribed to my blog!! That’s what makes the time and effort that goes into blogging so worth it – knowing that there are people like YOU reading it! :)