West Coast Salad

From “Ingebretsen’s Saga”

Many variations of this salad are popular in Sweden, but all of them call for seafood of some sort, usually shrimp and often mussels, plus vegetables. Use your favorite dressing – either mayonnaise-based or a lemony vinaigrette. This recipe is a blend of recipes from Marian Nelson, an Ingebretsen’s employee, and Inger Pignolet, a friend of the author’s. Serves four to six.  It is one of many recipes found in the book Ingebretsen’s Saga. (This book is currently out of print, but we may be getting more.)

  • 1 small head iceberg lettuce, torn in bite-sized pieces with several whole leaves retained to edge the serving bowl
  • 10 asparagus spears, canned or steamed
  • 1 c. small peas, cooked and cooled
  • 1/2 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
  • 1/2 English cucumber, unpeeled, in thin slices
  • 1 lb. small, cooked shrimp or larger shrimp
  • Crab meat, lobster or mussels, to taste, canned or cooked
  • 1 tart apple, peeled and diced
  • Chives, to taste
  • Dill, chopped to taste

In a large bowl, combine all ingredients except whole lettuce leaves and fold the dressing of your choice gently into the mixture. Place lettuce leaves around the edges of the bowl, chill and serve.

Here is a downloadable PDF of this wonderful recipe. West Coast Salad