Wurstsalat
This "salad" hardly needs a recipe. It is basically just sausage and cheese with a mayo infused vinaigrette. But there is something so comforting and quintessentially Swiss about it (and not just because of the cervelat). The main ingredients, sausage and hard mountain cheese, can be found in abundance in all Swiss refrigerators. Chop, sauce, mix, and you've got dinner.
It's included in Betty Bossi's Schwiizer Chuchi as a classic Swiss dish (with the greatest possible number of little Swiss flags, three, denoting this honour). Perfect as a quick summer meal after a day at the pool or lake, it's something cool and simple, but still relatively hearty.
Cervelatsalat
Of course, in Switzerland the traditional sausage to use is cervelat (more on that here), but if you can't find cervelat, Lyoner sausage, or even Fleischkäse will do.
It's adaptable.
My mum often added tomatoes or radishes if she had them, and Sam loves rings of raw onions. This version is my favourite, with bright spots of cherry tomatoes and a handful of chopped herbs on top.
Per person:
5 sausages, peeled and cut into half moons
200 g hard cheese, cubed
300 g cherry tomatoes, halved
fresh herbs, chopped
The dressing
1 tbsp mustard
1 tbsp mayonnaise
1 tbsp canola oil
2 tbsp white wine vinegar
salt and pepper
Mix the sausage, cheese, tomatoes and herbs in a bowl.
Whisk the dressing together and pour over the salad.
Serves 4
Use whatever cheese you like best. Here I used the Swiss cheese, Etivaz, which is very flavourful. Gruyere is another typical choice. I imagine it would also be excellent with cheddar.
Top with radishes or onions, or serve over lettuce leaves.
Good herbs to use are chives, parsley, thyme or oregano.
You can make this in advance and refrigerate it, but I think it tastes best at room temperature, so let it sit out for at least half an hour before serving.
Hold the sausage?
Chässalat
