Butter Poached Baby Salsify, Vanilla Parsnip Puree, Pickled Rhubarb, Wild Water Cress, Volcanic Sea Salt, Buttermilk Dressing
I made this salad to show off some of the awesome stuff I got at the first Headhouse Farmer's Market of the 2013 season. The Headhouse market is run by The Food Trust here in Philadelphia, where I live. Attending the market is a weekly ritual that I adhere to. The week following a missed market is usually a really sad one. It's a form of therapy I guess. Show to honor one of my very favorite activities coming back for the year I made a not-so-simple salad with some nice market finds.
I sliced the parsnips and cooked them in boiling water until soft. After straining them they were pureed with vanilla paste, butter and cream and then chilled before plating.
The salsify was peeled and slow-cooked in butter with a little spring garlic til soft and served warm. Salsify is also known as the "oyster plant" because it has a similar taste. So I sort of built the dish around this ingredient, imagining what I might do with actual oysters.
The rhubarb was slice on a bias and pickled in a mixture of sugar, cane vinegar, water and salt. I cooked the rhubarb in the pickling liquid to soften it up a bit and then chilled it before using.
The cress was simply plucked from the stalks and plated as is. The dressing was made by blending buttermilk, vinegar, sugar, salt and soy lecithin til it foamed up quite a bit. And I finished the plate with some black volcanic sea salt from Hawaii.
Product:
Organic Baby Salsify - Culton Organics
Organic Rhubarb - Culton Organics
Organic Parsnips - Culton Organics
Wild Water Cress - 3 Springs
I sliced the parsnips and cooked them in boiling water until soft. After straining them they were pureed with vanilla paste, butter and cream and then chilled before plating.
The salsify was peeled and slow-cooked in butter with a little spring garlic til soft and served warm. Salsify is also known as the "oyster plant" because it has a similar taste. So I sort of built the dish around this ingredient, imagining what I might do with actual oysters.
The rhubarb was slice on a bias and pickled in a mixture of sugar, cane vinegar, water and salt. I cooked the rhubarb in the pickling liquid to soften it up a bit and then chilled it before using.
The cress was simply plucked from the stalks and plated as is. The dressing was made by blending buttermilk, vinegar, sugar, salt and soy lecithin til it foamed up quite a bit. And I finished the plate with some black volcanic sea salt from Hawaii.
Product:
Organic Baby Salsify - Culton Organics
Organic Rhubarb - Culton Organics
Organic Parsnips - Culton Organics
Wild Water Cress - 3 Springs