Grand Sallet (Great Salad)
Grand Sallet (Great Salad) is a traditional Elizabethan recipe for a spectacular salad incorporating greens and fruit. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Elizabethan version of: Grand Sallet.
prep time
20 minutes
cook time
20 minutes
Total Time:
40 minutes
Serves:
8–10
Rating: 
Tags : British Recipes
Grand Sallet: Classic Elizabethan English recipe from Robert May for the traditional mixed salad of the period with greens, capers and fruit garnished with lemons, rosemary, cherries and eggs. This recipe comes as part of the bill of fare for Christmas day.
Modern Redaction
Ingredients:
A handful each of the young leaves of lettuce,
sorrel, mustard,
watercress,
dandelion, spinach, radishes
500g beet greens (kale, savoy cabbage)
225g
capers
12 dates, stoned and split lengthwise
60g currants
60g raisins
60g
blanched almonds
6 figs thinly sliced
6 mandarin oranges peeled and segmented
For the Decoration
5 small sprigs of
rosemary
4 small lemons
250g fresh cherries (with stems)
6 hard-boiled eggs
edible flowers (eg rose petals, violets, pansies etc), to garnish
Method:
Toss together the ingredients of the salad in a large bowl (but reserve half the capers, dates, almonds and orange segments for decoration). Arrange the leaves across the bottom of a wide, shallow dish.
Meanwhile spear the rosemary sprigs into the pointed ends of five half lemons and hand with cherries. Place one in the middle of the dish and arrange the others around the edge. Slice four eggs lengthways and stick the reserved almonds and dates into these before arranging them between the half lemons. Quarter the remaining lemons and eggs and arrange in an alternating pattern around the rim of the bowl. Finally place the remaining orange segments around he very edge of the bowl's rim, sprinkle the capers on top and serve. If desired, you can garnish with edible flowers.