Salmagundy

Salmagundy is a layered salad with colorful greens, meat, anchovies, and eggs among the variety of ingredients, with a vinegar based dressing. The name has many variants such as salmagundi, salmagondi, salamongundy, sallad-magundy, Solomon Gundy, salmi-, salmogundy, salmagunda, and salmagundy.

SALMAGUNDY
"...is a beautiful small dish, if in nice shape, and if the colours of the ingredients are varied. For this purpose chop separately the white part of cold chicken or veal, yolks of eggs boiled hard, the whites of eggs; parsley, half a dozen anchovies, beet-root, red pickled cabbage, ham, and grated tongue, or any thing well-flavoured, and of a good colour. Some people like a small proportion of onion, but it may be better omitted. A saucer, large tea-cup, or any other base, must be put into a small dish; then make rows round it wide at bottom, and growing smaller towards the top; choosing such of the ingredients for each row as will most vary the colours. At the top a little sprig of curled parsley may be stuck in; or, without any thing on the dish, the salmagundy may be laid in rows, or put into the half-whites of eggs, which may be made to stand upright by cutting off a little bit at the round end. In the latter case, each half egg has but one ingredient. Curled butter and parsley may be put as garnish between." Rundell

Making the Recipe:"Take two or three Roman or Cabbage Lettice, and when you have washed them clean, swing them pretty dry in a Cloth; then beginning at the open End, cut them cross-ways, as fine as a good big Thread, and lay the Lettices so cut, about an Inch thick all over the Bottom of the Dish." Glasse 1747

Layer the lettuce by alternating colars. Ingredients for the layers may also include: "lettuce, pepper grass, chervil, cress… young scallions" [Randolph], "Roman or Cabbage Lettice [head]… Lemon into small Dice…. Garnish with Grapes just scalded, or French beans blanched, or Station [Nasturtium] Flowers " [Glasse]. sorrel, spinach, endive, chicory, celery, fennel [Evelyn].

Cut the white meat of a cooked chicken [see Chicken on a string] "...into Slices, about three Inches long, a Quarter of an Inch broad, and as thin as a Shilling; lay them upon the Lettice." [Glasse] Add Anchovies … "between each Slice of the Fowls…the dark of the Legs into Dice." Cut the whites of hard boiled eggs in rings, cut up the yolks of 2 eggs.

SALMAGUNDI DRESSING"…boil two fresh eggs ten minutes, put them in water to cool, then take the yelks in a soup plate, pour on them a table spoonful of cold water, rub them with a wooden spoon until they are perfectly dissolved; then add two spoonsful of oil: when well mixed, put in a teaspoonful of salt, one of powdered sugar, and one of made mustard; when all these are united and quite smooth, stir in two table spoonsful of common, and two of tarragon vinegar; put it over the salad." Randolph

Making the Recipe:
3 egg yolks, cooked
2T water
3T oil
1t salt
2t sugar
1t prepared mustard
1T vinegar
3T tarragon vinegar

Combine salt, mustard and sugar. Set aside. Mash the yolks in a bowl and blend with water. Add oil, then the mustard mixture. When smooth, slowly stir in the vinegars. Try with less vinegar and a little more sugar.

©2010 Patricia Bixler Reber
hearthcook.com

Chocolate House at Colonial Williamsburg

©2010 Patricia Bixler Reber

hearthcook.com

Historic Plants in the Kitchen Symposium - Monticello

Sept 10 & 11 Historic Plants Biennial Symposium & annual Heritage Harvest Festival at Monticello, Charlottesville VA

Food historians will be speaking at this year's Historic Plants Symposium at Thomas Jefferson's Monticello's Tufton Farm. Reservations are required, but the next day's activities are free to the public.

Sandy Oliver
William Woys Weaver
John Martin “Hoppin’ John” Taylor
Leni Sorensen
Peter Hatch

For more information: http://www.monticello.org/calendar/saturdays.html