Toni Tipton-Martin’s Layered Garden Salad

We’ve long been fond of seven-layer salad, and Toni Tipton-Martin’s version from Jubilee: Recipes from Two Centuries of African American Cooking, from which this is adapted, is one of our favorites ever.

(We reviewed the book in June, 2020.)

It’s the ideal picnic dish, as it’s designed to travel well and be tossed on arrival. We especially love its garlic and herb dressing, which we’ll be using on all kinds of salads Tipton-Martin says it will remind you of bottled ranch dressing, “only better,” and she’s right. It can also be served as a dip; just add equal amounts of mayo and sour cream, a tablespoon at a time, until it’s as thick as you’d like it.

In case you’re new to boiling eggs, use an egg piercer or clean thumbtack to pierce a hole in the large end of each egg. Place the eggs in a small saucepan, cover with cold water, bring to a boil, then immediately cover the pan and remove from heat. Let sit in the hot water for 9 or 10 minutes, depending on how hard you like your yolk. Run under cold water to stop the cooking, then peel the eggs.

Serves 6.

Ingredients

FOR THE GARLIC AND HERB DRESSING:

1/3 cup (78 ml) whole milk

2 teaspoons lemon juice, divided

1/4 cup (57 grams) mayonnaise