To Make Salamongundy is a traditional British recipe, based on Hannah Glasse's recipe of 1747, for a classic Georgian/Regency 'great salad' that can be served as a starter or accompaniment that's made from sliced chicken meat layered on a base of lettuce that's finished with a mound of chicken meat, anchovies, egg yolks and herbs and garnished with baby onions. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic British version of: To Make Salamongundy.
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This is a traditional British recipe redacted from Hannah Glasse's 1747 volume The Aft of Cookery Made Plain and Easy, the classic Georgian cookbook.
To make ſalamongundy.
TAKE two or three Roman or cabbage lettuces, 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 lettuces ſo cut, about an inch thick, all over the bottom of a diſh. When you have thus garniſhed your diſh, take two cold roaſted pullets or chickens, and cut the fleſh off the breaſts and wings into ſlices, about three inches long, a quarter of an inch broad, and as thin as a ſhilling : lay them upon the lettuce round the end to the middle of the diſh, and the other towards the brim ; then having boned and cut ſix anchovies, each into eight pieces, lay them all between each ſlice of the fowls, then cut the lean meat off the legs into dice, and cut a lemon into ſmall dice ; then mince the yolks of four eggs, three or four anchovies, and a little parſley, and make a round heap of theſe in your diſh, piling it up in the form of a ſugar-loaf, and garniſh it with onions as big as the yolks of eggs, boiled in a good deal of water very tender and white. Put the largeſt of the onions in the middle on the top of the ſalamongundy, and lay the reſt all round the brim of the diſh, as thick as you can lay them ; then beat ſome ſallad oil up with vinegar, ſalt, and pepper, and pour over it all. Garniſh with grapes juſt ſcalded, or French beans blanched, or aſtertion-flowers, and ſerve it up for a firſt courſe.
Modern Redaction
Salamongundy (also known as 'Solomongundy and Salmogundy' is a classic Elizabethan salad of herbs, meat and fish that is descended from the 'grand sallats' (great salads) of the Medieval period. From this recipe, it is obvious that it was still held in high esteem in Georgian/Regency periods, and, indeed, it was during this time that it became a component of Jamaican food.
Ingredients:
2 lettuces (either Roman [straight-leaved] or cabbage [curled like a cabbage] style), leaves separated
1 roasted chicken, cooled and with the flesh removed and sliced
12 anchovy fillets, each cut into 8 pieces
1 lemon, finely diced
4 hard-boiled egg yolks, minced
6 anchovy fillets, minced
4 tbsp parsley, shredded
20 baby onions, blanched in salted, boiling, water
6 tbsp white wine vinegar
3 tbsp olive oil
salt and freshly-ground black pepper, to taste
grapes blanched in boiling water, French beans, blanched in boiling water, to garnish
nasturtium flowers, to garnish
Method:
Wash and dry the lettuce leaves then shred very finely. Take a large, shallow, salad dish and line the base about 2.5cm thick with the shredded lettuce. Take the breasts and wings of the chicken. Remove the meat and slice thinly into pieces about 7.5cm long and 6mm wide. Arrange these on top of the lettuce around the middle of the dish and interleave them with the sliced anchovy pieces.
Take the legs of the chicken and dice the meat. Combine this with the lemon, egg yolks, minced anchovy fillets and parsley. Mound this in the centre of the dish and surround with a ring of the baby onions. Arrange the remaining baby onions around the outside of the dish.
Whisk together the vinegar and olive oil and season to taste. Drizzle this over the salad then garnish with your choice of blanched grapes and French beans and nasturtium flowers. Serve as a decorative first course.
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