The Columbia Restaurant "1905 Salad"

I had never heard of the Columbia Restaurant (the oldest restaurant in Florida) or the famous "1905 Salad" until recently when I stumbled upon the recipe on the Sticky Gooey Creamy Chewy blog. Maybe this isn't surprising since I live in the landlocked west and the Columbia Restaurant is located in Florida.

I'm recovering from surgery and my sister Janel came over to make lunch for me and my family. I was her virtual grocery list connecting her (at the store) to the recipe. The results were a tangy, savory summer salad. She brought the locally famous "Hotel Utah" rolls which we served with creamy Tillamook butter.

Columbia “1905″ Salad
4 C iceberg lettuce, broken into 1 1/2″ × 1 1/2″ pieces
1 ripe tomato cut into eighths (we used cherry tomatoes)
1/2 C baked ham, julienned 2″ × ⅛” (may substitute turkey or shrimp)
1/2 C Swiss cheese, julienned 2″ × ⅛”
 (we used mild)
1/2 C pimiento-stuffed green Spanish olives
2 C “1905” Dressing (see recipe below)

1/2 C Romano cheese, grated
2 T Worcestershire sauce
1 lemon

Combine lettuce, tomato, ham, Swiss cheese, and olives in a large salad bowl. Before serving, add “1905” Dressing, Romano cheese, Worcestershire, and the juice of 1 lemon. Toss well and serve immediately. Makes 2 dinner salads or 4 side salads.

Dressing
1/2 C extra-virgin Spanish olive oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 t dried oregano

⅛ C white wine vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste

Mix olive oil, garlic, and oregano in a bowl with a wire whisk. Stir in vinegar, gradually beating to form an emulsion, and then season with salt and pepper. For best results, prepare 1 to 2 days in advance and refrigerate.

For the dressing we used Bernstein's Light Fantastic "Cheese Fantastico" which Janel added garlic to. I needed a "low-fat" alternative.

This salad is tied up with so much history from the Lea & Perrins President  trying the salad to the use of this salad to fight the salad bar craze of the 70's. It's just a fascinating story the more you read. Here's the restaurant's timeline.

Recipe Source: The Columbia Restaurant & the blog post at Sticky, Gooey, Creamy, Chewy

Thanks for lunch Janel! It was wonderful!