St. Patrick's Day Salad

A WILD & SEASONAL, GREEN SALAD FOR ST. PATRICK'S DAY

Watercress, Sorrel and Wild Garlic Salad.

A salad composed of plants readily available in St. Patrick's time, that have would have been well known by anyone living in Ireland, in the 5th century AD. We forget that so many of our common 21 st century vegetables and salad plants are comparatively recent introductions to Ireland and would have been unknown to our ancestors.

The days are lenghtening, tender wild spring greens, packed with vitamins and other goodies are emerging. The slugs have beaten me to the sorrel, but there are still enough new shoots for a tasty St. Patrick's Day salad.

Wild Kilkenny Garlic

The young, wild garlic (Allium ursinum) grows in profusion in County Kilkenny, in hedgerows and on the woodland edges. Look out for the distinctive garlic smell, as you crush it under foot. A few well chosen leaves is all that is required, or alternatively break up the leaves and rub the inside of the salad bowl with them.

Sorrel

Sorrel (Rumex acetosa) , like spinach, contains oxalic acid, so it is best eaten when young. It has a slightly bitter but pleasant taste. Sorrel can be used in sauces and soups. Not to be confused with the shamrock-like leafed wood sorrel (Oxalis acetosella)), which has a similar flavour. 

Watercress

Be careful when picking watercress (Nasturtium officinale), make sure that your source is a clean one, watercress can act as a host to Fasciola Hepatica more commonly known as liver fluke. The water in the watercourse, should be clean, fast flowing and away from animals. Boiling will kill the fluke larvae, but it is best avoided, if you suspect the watercress might be infected. It is easily grown at home under controlled conditions.

St. Patrick's Day Salad on a bed of Shamrock

RECIPE
For a St. Patrick's Day Salad, pick the young leaves (go easy on the garlic - unless you like a very strong flavour), wash them well and place in the salad bowl and add a little honey and some apple verjus and you have a salad that St. Patrick would recognise.

Email: kilkennyseakale@gmail.com

A Kilkenny February Salad

With a little care and protection salad leaves can easily be grown in Kilkenny, at all times of the year. This February Salad is made up of the thinings from Cos lettuce plants, young sprigs of watercress and blanched chicons.

A freshly picked Kilkenny February Salad

The dressing consists of Irish rape seed oil, homemade verjus, honey from the bees in the yard and a small amount of finely chopped fresh parsley, fresh thyme, fresh sage and fresh rosemary. All the ingredients originated within a few square yards of each other in rural Kilkenny, with the exception of the oil.

Email: kilkennyseakale@gmail.com

Chicory, Radicchio and Chicons

The blanched Chicons are now ready to eat, they were dug and lifted late in November, placed upright in pots with compost and kept in the dark in a cool dry place, since. Sliced from their roots at the base and then cut into small pieces, with some dressing and they make a refreshing winter salad at a time, when there are fewer salad leaves available.

Witloof Chicons

To my surprise the mild winter has allowed the non-forcing Chicory or Radicchio varieties to survive continuous cropping and they are still providing us with welcome fresh green and red leaves.

Chicory Salad Leaves

Email: kilkennyseakale@gmail.com