To Dress Salsify
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Scrape the roots gently to remove only the outer peel, cut them into pieces about 4 inches long, and, as they are peeled, throw them into water mixed with a little lemon juice to prevent discoloration.
Boil and serve
Put the peeled salsify into boiling water with salt, butter, and lemon juice in the proportions above, and let them boil rapidly until tender; test with a fork, and when it penetrates easily, they are done.
Drain the salsify, and serve with a good white sauce or French melted butter.
Alternatively, boil, slice, and fry the salsify in a batter; when crisp and a good colour, serve with fried parsley in the centre of the dish, and a little fine salt sprinkled over the salsify.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures. See the original page.
Explore the science
What each ingredient does
- Salsify (in the method)
- Is the vegetable itself, cooked until tender enough for a fork to pass through easily.
- Lemon juice
- Acidity in the cooking water helps keep the peeled roots from discolouring.
The step that matters
Test for tenderness with a fork. Salsify roots vary in size and age, and the fork test shows whether the centre has softened. Undercooked roots stay fibrous, while overcooking makes them mushy and waterlogged.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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