Recipe: Corned-Beef Salad with Thousand Island Dressing and Rye Croutons

Corned-Beef Salad with Thousand Island Dressing and Rye Croutons
Source: Food & Wine Magazine
4 Servings

You've probably eaten a sandwich with a salad inside; now try a salad with a sandwich inside. Strips of corned beef are tossed with lettuce and rye-bread croutons, then topped with Thousand Island dressing--the real old-fashioned kind with "islands" of pickle relish, hard-cooked egg, and chopped scallion.

3 cups 1/4 inch cubes rye bread
1 1/2 tablespoons cooking oil
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons ketchup
Dash Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon pickle relish
1 hard-cooked egg, chopped
3 scallions, white bulbs and green tops chopped and reserved separately
1 head green leaf lettuce (about 3/4 pound), torn into bite-size pieces (about 2 1/2 quarts)
1/2 head iceberg lettuce (about 1 pound), torn into bite-size pieces (about 1 1/2 quarts)
1/2 pound sliced corned beef, cut into 1/2-inch-wide strips

Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Put the bread cubes on a baking sheet and toss them with the oil and 1/4 teaspoon each of the salt and pepper. Bake, stirring occasionally, until the croutons are crisp and starting to brown, 5 to 10 minutes.

In a small bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, 1/4 teaspoon of the salt, and the remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Add the pickle relish, the egg, and the scallion bulbs and stir to combine.

In a large bowl, toss together the lettuces, scallion tops, and corned beef. Serve topped with the dressing and the croutons.

VARIATIONS:

Instead of the corned beef, add strips of deli pastrami, ham, or turkey.

Use romaine instead of iceberg lettuce.