Salmagundy

Serves 2 entrees, 4-6 salads

 

Choose from the following possible ingredients:

 

 

Lettuces:

 

Batavia

 

Black-seeded Simpson

 

Butterhead

 

Corn salad

 

Curly endive

 

Escarole

 

Frislee

 

Garden cress eaves, omit stems

 

Mustard greens

 

Purslane

 

Red Butterhead

 

Red Leaf lettuce

 

Roman (Romaine)

 

Upland cress eaves, omit stems

 

Watercress leaves, omit stems

 

 

Vegetables:

 

Artichoke hearts (cooked and cooled)

 

Asparagus (cooked and cooled)

 

Beet greens

 

Beets (cooked and cooled)

 

Beets (pickled)

 

Brussel Sprouts (cooked and cooled)

 

Cabbage

 

Carrots (raw or cooked and cooled)

 

Cauliflower (cooked and cooled)

 

Celery

 

Chard

 

Fennel

 

Green Haricote beans (blanched)

 

Green onions/Spring onions

 

Green peas (cooked and cooled)

 

Green Bell peppers

 

Kohl-rabi

 

Dried Hericote beans (cooked and cooled)

 

Leeks (cooked and cooled)

 

Lentils (cooked and cooled)

 

Lima bens (cooked and cooled)

 

Potatoes (cooked and cooled)

 

Potato salad

 

Red Bell peppers

 

Salsify/Oyster plant/oyster root

 

Sorrel Leaves

 

Spinach

 

Tomato (fresh)

 

Turnips (young)

 

 

Fungi:

 

Chanterelles

 

Chicken-of-the woods

 

Dryad’s Saddle

 

Giant Puffball mushrooms

 

Lion’s Mane

 

Morels

 

Oyster mushrooms

 

 

Fresh Herbs:

 

Borage

 

Chervil

 

Chives

 

Marshmallow Root (flowers and leaves)

 

Mint

 

Parsley

 

Salad Burnet

 

Tarragon

 

 

Meat:

 

Anchovy fillets

 

Chicken, roasted and removed from the bones, Thinly sliced

 

Egg salad

 

Ham, thinly sliced

 

Hardboiled eggs, shelled and chopped

 

Roast beef, thinly sliced

 

 

Fruits:

 

Apples

 

Barberries

 

Currants

 

Gooseberries

 

Lemons

 

Muskmelon

 

Oranges

 

Pears

 

 

Flowers:

 

Bee Balm (Monarda)

 

Borage

 

Chicory flowers and leaves

 

Dandelion leaves/Swedish mum

 

Lavender

 

Nasturtium Leaves & Buds

 

Primrose

 

Roses

 

Violets

 

 

Garnishes:

 

Cracked peppercorns

 

Paprika

 

Chopped nuts

 

 

 

Process:

 

One of the theories behind the development of salmagundy is that people enjoy different ingredients in their salads. The separation of the ingredients in the presentation of the salmagundy allows them to pick what they enjoy.

 

Make the desired dressing before preparing the salad.

 

Choose the desired lettuces and tear or slice them into bite-sized pieces. Place each chosen lettuce on the desired presentation platter as a grouping. Each group should measure 1 – 1½” tall, depending on the number of servings. Include at least three different lettuces.

 

If including an egg or potato salad, use a leaf of butterhead or Roman lettuce as the “bowl” for the egg salad and place it in the center of the platter.

 

Prepare the chosen vegetables, fungi, and/or fruit and flowers by slicing them to the desired size. A variety of colors make an eye-pleasing display. Arrange them in a circular pattern on top of the lettuces. Remember, if meat is to be included, to leave room for the slices of meat.

 

Herbs can be used as a garnish or sprinkled over the lettuce base. The flowers can be arranged among the ingredients or used as a garnish.

 

Serve the salad with salad tongs and a favorite dressing in a cruet on the side.