Sallet

This was served as part of the first course at the Ymir 2023 feast.

Introduction

A composed salad of dressed lettuces, fresh herbs, pickled mushrooms, and onion rings. The mushrooms are the centerpiece — pickled overnight in wine, vinegar, and spices, they’re always popular with diners who love them. The dish draws on several sources: Evelyn for the concept of the composed sallet, May and Digby for the mushroom preparations, and Dawson for the sallet arrangement itself.

Sources

Robert May, The Accomplisht Cook (1660) — Pickled Mushrooms

Take a bushell of Mushroms, blanch them over the crown, barb them beneath; if they are new, they look as red as a Cherry; if old, black; this being done, throw them into a pan of boyling water, then take them forth and let them drain; when they are cold, put them up into your Pot or Glass, put thereto Cloves, Mace, Ginger, Nutmeggs, whole Pepper; then take white-wine, a little Vinegar, with a little quantity of salt, so pour the Liquor into your Mushroms, and stop them close for your use all the year.

Sir Kenelme Digby, The Closet of the Eminently Learned Sir Kenelme Digbie Kt. Opened (1669) — Pickled Champignons

Champignons are best, that grow upon gravelly dry rising Grounds. Gather them of the last nights growth; and to preserve them white, it is well to cast them into a pitcher of fair-water, as you gather them: But that is not absolutely necessary, if you will go about dressing them as soon as you come home. Cut the great ones into halves or quarters, seeing carefully there be no worms in them; and peel off their upper skin on the tops: the little ones, peel whole. As you peel them, throw them into a bason of fair-water, which preserves them white. Then put them into a pipkin or possnet of Copper (no Iron) and put a very little water to them, and a large proportion of Salt. If you have a pottle of Mushrooms, you may put to them ten or twelve spoonfuls of water, and two or three of Salt. Boil them with pretty quick-fire, and scum them well all the while, taking away a great deal of foulness, that will rise. They will shrink into a very little room. When they are sufficiently parboiled to be tender, and well cleansed of their scum, (which will be in about a quarter of an hour,) take them out, and put them into a Colander, that all the moisture may drain from them. In the mean time make your pickle thus: Take a quart of pure sharp white Wine Vinegar (elder-Vinegar is best) put two or three spoonfuls of whole Pepper to it, twenty or thirty Cloves, one Nutmeg quartered, two or three flakes of Mace, three Bay-leaves; (some like Limon-Thyme and Rose-mary; but then it must be a very little of each) boil all these together, till the Vinegar be well impregnated with the Ingredients, which will be in about half an hour. Then take it from the fire, and let it cool. When the pickle is quite cold, and the Mushrooms also quite cold, and drained from all moisture: put them into the Liquor (with all the Ingredients in it) which you must be sure, be enough to cover them. In ten or twelve days, they will have taken into them the full taste of the pickle, and will keep very good half a year.

Thomas Dawson, The Good Huswifes Jewell (1596) — Sallet

To make a Sallet of all kinde of hearbes. Take your hearbes and picke them very fine into faire water, and picke your flowers by themselues, and washe them al cleane, and swing them in a strainer, and when you put them into a dish, mingle them with Cowcumbers or Lemmons payred and sliced, and scrape Suger, and put in vineger and Oyle, and throwe the flowers on the toppe of the sallet, and of euery sorte of the aforesaide things, and garnish the dish about with the forsaide thinges, and harde Egges boyled and laide about the dish and vpon the sallet.

Discussion

• The mushrooms were blanched, drained, and pickled overnight in white wine, vinegar, garlic, bay leaves, and peppercorns — a simplified version drawing on both May’s and Digby’s methods. The overnight pickle was enough to give them good flavor without the days-long soak Digby describes for longer preservation.
• The “fancy blend” lettuce and herb mix was what was available at Restaurant Depot — not a period-specific selection, but a practical one. The simple oil-and-vinegar dressing on the greens follows Dawson’s approach directly.
• The layered plating — dressed ordinary lettuce on the bottom, the finer greens and herbs over that, then pickled mushrooms and onion rings arranged decoratively on top — follows the composed sallet pattern, with the most visually striking elements on display.
• Because this was a first-course dish, timing worked in its favor: the salad was dressed and plated close to service and eaten promptly, so sogginess was not an issue.

Sources