Potato salad with dill and chives for a start! (Salads)

Member Name: B-DISE

Product:	Salads
Date:	30/03/08 (129 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Fresh herbs, great for a difference in salads.

Disadvantages: Use fresh herbs carefully.

King Henry VIII once enjoyed a salad made out of 50 flowers, roots, buds and leaves. Yes, for those members who have read my reviews "Sweet basil, Heila and Barbeque" and "Romantic and legendary", I am back with another herbal treat.

Forgive me, it seems I have forgotten the topic is supposedly "Salads" and yet I have to mention that fresh herbal provides colour as well as instant garnishing. Fresh herbal also sharpens the appetite or aid digestion. Remember, choosing the right herbals in flowers, and leaves could possibly have a stunning effect visually and aromatically on your table.

To supply extra nutrition to everyday meals there are many herbs like comfrey, watercress and parsley besides others which contains a small but rich balance of minerals, vitamins and trace elements. In addtion before I share some salad recipes I want to mention a few ideas that should be able to get us all back into the kitchen having fun again.

I am giving attention to salad herbs as I am still within the topic of salads hopefully. Using flowers, yet considering their colour when mixing your ingredients to harmonize will give a special appeal to a salad of your choice. Flowers such as Rose petals, Chive flowers, Garden pansy, Lawn daisy, Calendula petals and others will supply you with a wonderful colour range to choose from.

Some culinary herbs that can be added to salads, but be warned, in small amounts only would be herbals like seeds of sunflower, tarragon, lovage, thyme, lemon balm, parsley, fennel stalks, leaves and bulbs to name only a few.

To make up the bulk of your salad you might want to try using blanched chicory, chickweed, lettuce, and summer purslane which are all leaves with a mild flavour and attractive in most salads. Yes I know you are about to yell as you have still not seen a glance of a salad and to keep you satisfied I shall start with my first which is a potato salad as I adore potatoes and this is a favourite of mine.

Potato Salad with Dill and Chives.

Your ingredients:
4 medium potatoes
1 tablespoon chopped onion
1 tablespoon chopped parsley (I found the flat-leaf parsley adds a much nicer taste)
1 tablespoon chopped chives (My personal choice changed to garlic chives...delicious!)
1 flowering head of dill finely chopped or 1 teaspoon dill seed
3 tablespoon mayonnaise (Depending what I feel like, my measurement here changes with my moods)
1 tablespoon cream or yogurt (Cream rather than yogurt for me)
salt and black pepper (I prefer grounded black pepper)

Now that you have all your ingredients ready please follow the steps which are very easy:
Boil the potatoes in their skin until just tender.
Cool, peel and slice them.
Sprinkle on the onion, parsley, chives and dill.
Blend the mayonnaise and cream/yogurt, add salt and pepper.
Then add your blend to the potato mixture and stir very gently.
Now all you need to do is leave the salad to stand for a few hours so that the flavours mingle.

I know the first time I had this lovely salad on the table I was the only person not having a chance to taste so do be warned that your guests might not consider leaving you anything but an empty dish. Now, was that worth it or what? Oh, almost forgot, your salad should be enough for a serving of 4 unless you have invited me for dinner.

Why do I always make promises? Yes, here would be a salad of a difference which I believe is always a winner at a special occasion.

Violet Herb Salad.

Your ingredients:
1 head of chicory
1 tablespoon finely chopped celery (I leave celery out of this recipe often and carry on without)
1 tablespoon finely chopped tender fennel stalks (peeled if needed)
1 tablespoon chopped parsley (Here too I prefer flat-leaf parsley which does not have such a distinctive sharp taste)
1 tablespoon chopped chervil
2 olives finely chopped (My choice are usually black olives, but green olives can also be used)
salad dressing to taste (I make my own salad dressing with olive oil, Robertsons Veggie seasoning, a bit of lemon juice, two teaspoons of brown sugar, salt and black grounded pepper, mix all together and add)
petals of 30 sweet violets

With all the above ingredients you now seperate the chicory leaves and place it in a salad bowl. Add the remaining salad ingredients as well as all the herbs and gently mix it very well. Now all you need to do is add your dressing, then toss the salad. Sprinkle on the sweet violet petals, stand back and look at your wonderfull salad before you place it on your table.

I would not advise you inviting more than 4, but I am sure you will make sure there would be enough for all to enjoy.

I would like to conclude with the fact that herbs were used to preserve foods but the range of edible herbs and the way that they have been used in the past was much greater than today. It has only been fairly recent that a fresh interest in herbs enjoyed a revival.

Please understand that I have found these recipe's ages ago in recipe books and ever since changed some of the ingredients to my own taste, so for those who have a problem with this material, I do not have the recipe books to be able to give specific details. I kept these recipe's in the original format, but change ingredients as I mentioned according to my taste and mood.

I believe we all should enjoy the fact that we have so much to explore and experience as nature is providing us with so much to enhance our knowledge while we can live healthier in the process. Thank you for reading until we meet again.

Summary: Supply extra nutrition to everyday food.