“‘From the Lord Commander’s own table,’ Bowen Marsh told them.  There were salads of spinach and chickpeas and turnip greens, and afterward bowls of iced blueberries and sweet cream.” (I: 372)

Medieval-ish Salad

Our thoughts:

This salad is earthy and quite tasty.  The different greens provide a wide variety of flavors; the splash of lemon from the sorrel, the refreshing crispness of the mint, and the classic tangy pairing of oil and vinegar.  That said, we weren’t crazy about the oniony greens in the mix. Our big change? Swap out the mushy chickpeas for the crunchy Middle Eastern snack kind.  Yum!

Salat. Take persel, sawge, grene garlec, chibolles, letys, leek, spinoches, borage, myntes, prymos, violettes, porrettes, fenel, and toun cressis, rosemarye, purslarye; laue and waishe hem clene. Pike hem. Pluk hem small wiþ þyn honde, and myng hem wel with rawe oile; lay on vyneger and salt, and serue it forth. -Forme of Curye, 14th Century.

Cook’s Notes:  For our version of this salad, we started with baby spinach, turnip greens, and chickpeas.  We also included a variety of quirkier greens: sorrel, chives, mint, and parsley, and added a few raisins for visual contrast.  We drizzled a little olive oil and vinegar, then sprinkled with a pinch of salt.

Feel free to make your version as the directions specify, or use any variation of these ingredients to come up with your own personal “salat.” Toss with vinegar, oil, and a pinch of salt, and you’re ready to serve!

Original Ingredients:

• parsley
• sage
• green garlic
• scallions
• lettuce
• leek
• spinach
• borage
• mints
• primroses
• violets
• “porrettes” (green onions, scallions, & young leeks)
• fennel
• garden cress
• rosemary
• purslane