You might think of a fresh vegetable salad as a modern thing that came with the healthy eating movement of the last 30 years. You would be forgiven for thinking that way, since before that the popular idea of salad was tuna salad, ambrosia salad, Watergate salad, macaroni salad, and whatever vegetables you could fit into a mold with Jell-o. But you would also be wrong. Sure, the term "salad" has been misused and abused for hundreds of years, but among the abominations that carry the word, there are some real gems.
Jon Townsend knows historical foods and wants us to know them, too. He found a recipe for salamagundy from 1793, and did the research on this dish. Salamagundy goes back to the 17th century, and is sometimes spelled salamagundi or salad magundi. It was a fancy, colorful, and attractive way to serve a variety of cold foods. Note that the old recipe spells it Salamongundy, which might remind you of the nursery rhyme Solomon Grundy. The rhyme may have been inspired by the name of the dish.
At any rate, the modern equivalent of this dish would be a chef's salad, or a salad bar, depending on the presentation. Many folks know it as Sunday night supper (since the big cooked meal was at midday) or leftovers. Still a treat!