The English Housewife: Sallets

First then to speak of Sallets, there be some simple, some compounded, some only to furnish out the Table, and some both for use and adornation: your simple Sallets are Chibols pilled, washt clean, and half of the green tops cut clean away, and so served on a fruit dish, or Chives, Scallions, Rhaddish roots, boyled Carrets, Skirrets and Turnips, with such like served up simply: Also, all young Lettuce, Cabbage-Lettuce, Purslane, and divers other herbs which may be served simply without any thing but a little Vinegar, Sallet Oyl and Sugar; Onions boyled; and stript from their rind, and served up with Vinegar, Oyl and Pepper, is a good simple Sallet; so is Camphire, Bean-cods, Sparagus, and Cucumbers, served in likewise with Oyl, Venegar and Pepper, with a world of others, too tedious to nominate.

Your compound Sallets, are first the young buds and Knots of all manner of wholesome Herbs at their first springing; as red Sage, Mint, Lettuce, Violets, Marigold, Spinage, and many other mixed together and then served up to the Table with Vinegar, Sallet-Oyl, and Sugar.

To compound an Excellent Sallet, and which indeed is usual at great Feasts, and upon Princes Tables: Take a good quantity of blancht Almonds, and with your shredding knife cut them grosly; then take as many Raisons of the Sun clean washt, and the stones pickt out, as many Figs shred like the Almonds, as many Capers, twice so may Olives, and as many Currants as all the rest, clean washt, a good handful of the small tender leaves of red Sage and Spinage: mix all these well together with a good store of Sugar, and lay them in the bottom of a great dish; then put unto them Vinegar and Oyl, and scrape more sugar over all: then take Oranges and Lemons, and paring away the outward pills, cut them into thin slices, then with those slices cover the Sallet all over; which done, take the find thing leave of the red Cole-flower, and with them cover the Oranges and Lemmons all over; then over those Red leaves lay another course of old Olives, and the slices of well pickled Cucumers, together with the very inward heart of Cabbage-Lettuce cut into slices, then adorn the sides of the dish, and the top of the Sallet, with more slices of Lemmons and Oranges, and so serve it up.

To make an excellent compound boyl'd Sallet; take of Spinage well washt, two or three handfuls, nd put it in fair water, and boyl it til it be exceeding soft and tender as pap; then put it into a Cullender, and drain water from it, which done with the back side of your Chopping-knife chop it, and bruise it as small as may be; then put it into a Pipkin with a good lump of sweet butter, and boyl it over again; then take a good handful of Currants clean washt, and put to it, and stir them well together, then put to as much Vinegar as will make it reasonable tart, and then with Sugar season it according to the taste of the Master of the house, and so serve it upon sippets.

Your preserved Sallets are of two kinds, either pickled, as are cucumers, Sampire, Purslane, Broom, and such like, or preserved with Vinegar, as Violets, Primroses, Cowslips, Gillyflowers of all kinds, Broom-flowers, and for the most part any wholesome flower whatsoever.

Now for the pickling of Sallets, they are only boyled and then drained from the water, spread upon a TGable, and good store of salt thrown over them; then when they are thorow cold, make a pickle with water, salt and a little Vinegar, and with the same pot them up in close earthen pots, and serve them forth as occasion shall serve.

Now for preserving of Sallets, you shall take any of the flowers before said, after they have been pickt clean from their stalks, and the white ends (of them which have any) clean cut away, and washt and dryed, and taking a glass pot, like a Gally-oot, or for want thereof a Gally-pot it self, and first strew a little Sugar in the bottom, then lay a layer of the Flowers, then cover that layer over with Sugar, then lay another larger of the Flowers, and another of Sugar; and thus do one above another till the pot be filled, ever and anon pressing them hard down with your hand: This done you shall take of the best and sharpest Vinegar you can get, (and if the Vinegar be distill'd Vinegar, the flowers will keep their colours the better) and with it fill up your pot till the Vinegar swim aloft, and no more can be received, then stop up the pot close, and set them in a dry temperate place, and use them at pleasure, for they will last all the year.

Now for the compounding of Sallets, of these pickled and preserved things, though they may be served up simply of themselves, and are both good and dainty; yet for better curiosity, and the finer adorning of the Table, you shall thus use them; First, if you would set forth any Red flower, that you know or have seen, you shall take your pots of preserved Gilly-flowers, and suting the colours answerable to the flower, you shall proportion it forth, and lay the shape of the Flower in a Fruit dish; then with your Purslane leaves make the green Coffin of the flower, and with the Purslane stalks make the stalk of the flower, & the divisions of the leaves and branches; then with the thin slices of Cucumers, make their leaves in true proportions, jagged or otherwise: and thus you may let forth some full blown, some half blown, and some in the bud, which will be pretty and curious. And if you will let forth yellow flowers, take the pots of Primroses and Cowslips; if blew flowers, then the pots of Violets or Bugloss flowers; and these Sallets are both for shew and use, for they are more excellent for taste, then for to look on.

Now for Sallets for shew only, and the adorning and setting out of a Table with number of dishes, they be those which are made of Carret roots of sundry colours well boyled, and cut into many shapes and proportions, as some into Knots, some in the manner of Scutchions, and Arms, some like Birds, and some like Wild beasts, according to the Art and cunning of the Workman, and these for the most part are seasoned with Vinegar, Oyl, and a little Pepper. A World of other Sallets there are, which time and experience may bring to our House-wifes eye, but the composition of them, and the serving of them, differeth nothing from these already rehearsed.