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.

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 – The Recipe

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.

“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!

Have a great week!

28
Jun
2022

Warm Chestnut Salad

categories: 1990's recipes, Australian Gourmet Traveller, Magazines, Salad

This post on a Warm Chestnut Salad was going to be an edition of “what posh people ate in the 1he 1990’s” however it turned into a real-life “what posh people eat in the 2020’s! Chestnuts and prosciutto were, and are still fairly high-end items. BUT what has pushed this salad into the realms of high-end dining this year is the greenery!

Due to floods, constant rain and various supply chain issues there are currently vast shortages of lettuce in Australia. Iceberg lettuces which normally cost around $2 are retailing for as much as $12 per lettuce! That is when you can even find them. Reminiscent of the toilet paper drama of 2020, supermarket shelves normally stacked with the green stuff are empty! Chain restaurants such as McdDonald’s and KFC are subbing cabbage into their burgers.

I was lucky enough to find some mixed leaves at a not exorbitant price at my local greengrocer last week and being able to have some fresh salad to eat made this meal feel utterly luxurious! Lettuce is not the only thing in short supply. Supermarkets are also warning that other produce will also be in short supply in the coming weeks:

Looks like it might need to be cocktails and cakes for the next few weeks on the blog. Oh well, I can think of worse things!

Warm Chestnut Salad – The Recipe

The recipe for the Warm Chestnut Salad comes from the May 1993 issue of Australian Gourmet Traveller. The OG recipe calls for the prosciutto to be grilled until crisp. I prefer my proscuitto au naturale. Go your own way on this one. The recipe also says it feeds four as a side salad, I halved the quantities and had it as a main meal.

This is an easy salad to make and it was absolutely delicious. I would make this once a week for the whole of chestnut season if only the salad greens weren’t going to bankrupt me! I have never had any luck growing lettuce but it might be time to give it another try.

Have a wonderful week!

27
Mar
2022

Lady Marmalade Salad

categories: Music, Salad

“Hey sister, go sister, soul sister, go sister, Hey sister, go sister, soul sister, go sister”

Who doesn’t love the opening lines to Lady Marmalade, the amazing disco hit from La Belle. I knew the iconic phrase “Voulez vous couchez avec moi, ce soir?” before I even knew it was in a foreign language. Or what exactly it meant! Today, we are celebrating Lady Marmalade hitting number one in the charts way back in 1975 with a Lady Marmalade salad via Jamie Oliver’s Veg.

Lady Marmalade Salad – The Recipe

He met Marmalade down in old New Orleans, strutting her stuff on the street
She said, “Hello, hey Joe, You wanna give it a go?”

If you want to give it a go, here’s the recipe!

Why Should You Try This?

It has a very cool name and will have you humming and possibly busting a few of your best disco moves while you make it. It is also a gorgeous mix of crispy, crunchy, sweet, sour and touch of bitter!

As Jamie mentions it is lovely with creamy cheese. Although I preferred mine with a rose!

This is so good, it will make

the savage beast inside, Roar until it cried, more, more, more

Variations

I could not find different colours of chicory so I just used the green one. The red shallots added a splash of colour.
I also could not find chervil so I used some finely chopped tarragon to give that anise flavour.
I also used a mix of seeds and nuts to add the crunch

Ok, so promise me that some time this week you will play this track and sing along with me

Itchi gitchi ya ya da da
Itchi gitchi ya ya here
Mocha-choca-lata ya ya
Creole lady marmalade

Have a great week!

16
Jan
2022

Berry Salad with Blue Cheese Croutons

categories: Berries, Blue Cheese, Magazines, Salad, Seasonal Recipes

Today’s recipe for Berry Salad with Blue Cheese Croutons is inspired by a recipe from the December 2001 / January 2002 edition of Super Food Ideas. Which makes it twenty years old this month!

We are currently sweltering in a hot summer so this salad hits the spot perfectly. And, without tooting my own trumpet too much, can we just stop and take a moment to reflect on how pretty this salad is?

It’s almost too pretty to eat. But only almost. Because it’s also delicious

Before we jump into the recipe, let’s take a look at what else was hot in Dec/Jan 2002 with the seasonal eating guide.

What’s Peaking in January – Fruit

Apricots

Why not make some apricot and rhubarb frangipane tarts?

Bananas

Banana Breakfast Cream is a great way to start your day!

Blueberries

Get your Scottish on with some Rhubarb and Blueberry Cranachan

Grapefruit

And if you don’t like eating fruit, why not drink it. This Navigator cocktail has gin, limoncello and pink grapefruit juice…yum!

What’s Peaking in January – Vegetables

Asparagus

Why eat normal sandwiches when you can have these cute as a button Easter Lily Sandwiches?

Mushrooms

The vol au vent is, for me, the archetypical retro food. Why not check out my mushroom vol au vents from way back in 2012?

Retro Food For Modern Times – Holiday Wrap Up

Potato

Step back in time to Pieathalon3 when Ruth sent me a Lemon Potato Pie!

Sweetcorn

Another cookalong resulted in this Cowboy Caviar. It was delicious. Thanks Greg for organising our Cowboy Day Cookalong!

Ok, so now onto the main feature!

Berry Salad with Blue Cheese Croutons – The Recipe

Print

Berry Salad with Blue Cheese Croutons

Print Recipe

A delcious and gorgeous salad, perfect for summer days.

Author: Taryn Fryer

Ingredients

Scale

For The Croutons

1 baguette sliced into 1cm slices
50g creamy blue cheese (I used Gorgonzola dolce)

For The Salad

100g rocket (arugula)
1 cup berries (I used raspberries and strawberries)
2 carrots, cut into thin ribbons
1/8 red cabbage, finely sliced
1/4 cup walnuts, toasted

For The Dressing

1 tbsp raspberries
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
2 tsp Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp sugar
Salt and Pepper to taste

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

For The Croutons

Spread each round of bread lightly with the cheese.
Bake in a moderate oven (180C) for 5-10 minutes until crisp.
Allow to cool.

For The Dressing

Puree the raspberries.
Whisk in the oil, vinegar, sugar and seasonings.

For The Salad

Place the rocket leaves in a bowl.
Add the berries, carrots, red cabbage and walnuts.
Toss to combine.
Top with the blue cheese croutons.
Drizzle with the dressing just before serving.

Notes

The original recipe contained spinach and asparagus. I didn’t have either when I made this so I subbed in the carrot and red cabbage. Go your own way on this!

I was back to work this week which was a shock to the system!

I’ll be back ,mid-week with another cheese heavy post.

In the meantime, have a great week!

02
Jan
2022

Leek and Hazelnut Salad

categories: Leeks, Salad

Hello food lovers, welcome to 2022!!!! Recently I reposted an old recipe and it got me thinking that I had not posted a Dishiest Dish post in a very long time. One of my intentions for 2022 is to resume that practice, primarily because over the last few months I have misplaced a few recipes that were really good! So, for every month this year, I will be posting the recipe for the best thing I made in the preceding month. And for December, it was a delicious Leek and Hazelnut Salad.

I have recently become obsessed with leeks. They are in last week’s Detox Soup and I also made Rachel Khoo’s Leeks in Vinaigrette with Bayonne Ham.

For full disclosure, I do not like hazelnuts. I’ll eat them if mixed with other things like chocolate in Nutella but if it is possible to pick them out of something, I’ll do it. So, for my salad, I use macadamias which are, to my taste, a far superior nut! Almonds would also work here. As you can also see from the photo above, in this particular iteration, I have also swapped out the spring onions for red onions.

The combination of the sweet tangle of leeks, the tanginess of the pickled onions, the creamy goat’s cheese, the crunchy nuts and the cooked to perfection (even if I do say so myself ) soft boiled egg is a delight! And if you want to take the newspaper’s suggestion of accompanying your leek and hazelnut salad with a glass of sparkling wine, well I will not try to stop you. In fact, I am now questioning why I have not done that in the many times I have made it. Oh well, another reason to make it again! (As if I needed one).

Leek and Hazelnut Salad – The Recipe

I snipped this recipe from the newspaper (Possibly The Age), years ago. I do not know whose recipe it is in order to credit them. Whoever you are, thank you. And if by chance you happen to be reading this, please let me know so I can update the post!

Other Favourites of The Month

Reading

The Appeal by Janice Halllett

This is a darkly comic mystery story told through emails, text messages and other forms of media. The Appeal is possibly the best book I have read all year.

I also thoroughly enjoyed the second in the Thursday Murder Club Series, The Man who Died Twice by Richard Osman.

My audible book of the month was The Broken Teaglass by Emily Arsenault. This was a great story but I did not love the male narrator’s voice. I think I would have preferred this in normal book format.

Cookbook

Through December, I also became obsessed with the Australian chef Karen Martini and bought three of her books – Cooking At Home, Feasting and Where the Heart Is. Given I have bought so many of her books, I hope to feature one of her recipes very soon!

Our cookbook club book of the month is not a book at all but we are cooking from tv shows. I am torn between the Jamie Oliver series for his new cookbook Together and Adam’s Liaw’s tv show The Cook Up.

Watching

My current fave thing to watch the British tv show Bargain Hunt. I love thrift shopping so watching other people do it has great appeal!

Cooking

This month I am keen to finish the remaining recipes in the Hugh Fearnley Wittingstall book which was a Tasty Reads pick back in 2015. I have only 4 recipes left to cook from this book!

I will also be making this recipe from the aforementioned The Cook Up. Using homegrown zucchini!

These are the books I will be cooking from this week

Shopping

Queenies

My boss introduced me to these which come in a gorgeous array of designs and give your hair a very cute and somewhat vintage-looking wave. I bought the Mojo design. Below is the first time I used it and I was pretty happy with the result. Apologies for the gormless look on my face, I am incapable of taking a good selfie!

Saint Belford Curation Diary

I am constantly on the search for the perfect planner. I bought one in champagne pink to help keep me on track this year! It really does seem to have everything in the one place – Habits, meal planner, gratitude, goals, bucketlist and of course, space for your to-do’s, appointments etc.

And just because, here is a pic of Oscar and Holly. Holly has not been well through Christmas and still needs some further testing done once the specialist vets return to work. But for the moment, she is doing well and happy cuddling up to her big bro:

That’s it for me, I hope you enjoyed this little peek into my life!

Have a wonderful week!

Category: Salad

Rose Petal and Nasturtium Leaf Salad – The Recipe

Additions

Serving Suggestions

Fun Facts

Warm Chestnut Salad – The Recipe

Lady Marmalade Salad – The Recipe

Why Should You Try This?

Variations

What’s Peaking in January – Fruit

Apricots

Bananas

Blueberries

Grapefruit

What’s Peaking in January – Vegetables

Asparagus

Mushrooms

Potato

Sweetcorn

Berry Salad with Blue Cheese Croutons – The Recipe

Berry Salad with Blue Cheese Croutons

Ingredients

For The Croutons

For The Salad

For The Dressing

Instructions

For The Croutons

For The Dressing

For The Salad

Notes

Leek and Hazelnut Salad – The Recipe

Other Favourites of The Month

Reading

The Appeal by Janice Halllett

Cookbook

Watching

Cooking

Shopping

Saint Belford Curation Diary