Category: Vogue Entertaining & Travel


Dec
2022

Rose Petal and Nasturtium Leaf Salad

categories: 1990's recipes, Edible Flowers, Magazines, Roses, Salad, Vogue Entertaining & Travel

Hello friends and welcome to the latest edition of Things Posh People Ate in the 90s.  This week’s fancy dish comes from the pages of  Vogue Entertaining from March 1990.   And what could be posher than a salad made of flowers?  Or more pretty?  This Rose Petal and Nasturtium Leaf Salad would make a lovely addition to a spring or summer lunch.

Rose Petal and Nasturtium Leaf Salad

This would also be a delightful addition to your Christmas dinner table, ideal for a girl’s night or a romantic dinner à deux!  The rose petals don’t add a heap of flavour (that comes from the rosewater in the dressing) but the nasturtium leaves are nice and peppery.  The pea shoots bring some freshness, the olives some briny bitterness, and some depth to what is otherwise pretty much all sweetness and light.  The orange dressing is refreshing and not too sweet.

Also, if like me you do not grow your own roses or nasturtiums, please make sure they come from a reputable source and have not been sprayed with any pesticides or other things you do not want to eat!  My petals and leaves came direct from my mum’s garden.

Rose Petal and Nasturtium Leaf Salad.2jpg

Rose Petal and Nasturtium Leaf Salad – The Recipe

Rose Petal and Nasturtium Leaf Salad Recipe2

Additions

You could add any (or all) of these to this salad depending on your preference or how big you want your salad to be:

  • Toasted flaked almonds for some crunch
  • Goat’s cheese for some creaminess
  • Wafer thin slices of fennel for crunch and a little hit of aniseed

 

 

Serving Suggestions

Vogue Entertaining serves this with a seafood salad with a creamy pesto dressing.  Far be it for me to contradict them but pesto can pack a punch of flavours (which s what makes it so delicious) but may overpower the delicate nature of this salad.

I would go with

  • Chicken – either poached or roasted
  • A grilled salmon fillet or
  • Some grilled prawns or scallops

Fun Facts

The article containing the Rose Petal and Nasturtium Leaf Salad was called Culinary Canvas and featured the artist Mary Pinnock.

Mary Pinnock - Article

 

“I dig cooking with them because they are so available,” she says, reaching through the kitchen window and plucking a handful from a hanging pot.

Mary Pinnock on nasturtium leaves.

I had a quick look online for Mary and you can still buy her artwork for a very reasonable price.  This one, featuring nasturtium leaves has a  price guide of only $150-250 which is an absolute bargain!  If it was actually for sale I might be tempted to buy it myself!

 

 

Rose Petal and Nasturtium Leaf Salad.4jpg

 

Have a great week!

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Jun
2022

Hummer Strudels

categories: 1980's recipes, Lobster, Magazines, Seafood, Spinach, Vogue Entertaining & Travel

Welcome friends.  Today we are channelling our inner Gordon Gekko’s and subscribing to the credo of  Greed is Good”  to make some luxurious Hummer Strudels.  These are coming to us via Vogue Entertaining and Travel from Autumn 1986. Now, greed and huge shoulder pads may have been good in the 1980s but this name is not.  To me, hummers are giant gas-guzzling cars nearly always filled with semi-drunk teenagers off to a school formal (aka prom for my American friends).  It makes no sense why this is called a Hummer strudel.  It also possibly made no sense to the magazine editor who added a subtitle to the recipe so everyone knew they were going to be eating Crayfish and Spinach Strudels.

Hummer Strudel 1

Or were they?  Let’s address the Hummer-sized elephant in the room.  These also aren’t really strudels.  I guess it depends on a definition of a strudel but to my mind, a strudel has layers of pastry wrapped around a filling.   I would call this thing a pasty or an empanada or, if these are considered cultural appropriation, then maybe a hand-pie.    Maybe these terms were all too common for the la-di-dah folks of 1986?

Hummer Strudells 2

Hummer Strudells 4

Hummer Strudels – The Recipe

The pastry was really short and rich and the spinach, lobster tail and cream filling was delicious!  But just because we are adopting the 80’s creed of “greed is good” for today’s meal, it doesn’t mean our 2020’s sensibilities need to suffer.  I waited to make this until I could find some highly discounted lobster tails in my local supermarket. These were on sale for  $1.50 each!  If you are unable to find cheap lobster tails most other seafood would work in this – prawns, scallops, or even any firm white fish.  Or a mix of any of them. If you are not a seafood lover, chicken would also work and for a vegetarian version, mushrooms would be great!

Hummer Strudells 3

A quick note on the pastry too.  The OG recipe calls for both lard and butter.  I used coconut oil instead of lard and as mentioned above, the pastry turned out beautifully!

Hummer Strudel recipe 1

For the two lobster tails, I used half quantities of all the other ingredients which made 8 hand pies.  So enough to share…or not!

The Hummer Strudels were delicious!  So why not channel your inner 80’s icon, stream Wall Street and make these this soon!

Have a  great week everyone!

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