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Brunswick Salad
Arrange 2 cupfuls of celery cut into inch lengths, and 1 cupful of pickled nasturtium seeds on lettuce leaves. Garnish with the yolks of 2 hard-boiled eggs passed through a sieve, and the whites cut into dice, 4 cold boiled truffles minced, and 1 tablespoonful of minced chives. Cover with French dressing, and serve.
A composed salad that depends almost entirely on the quality of its pickles and the sharpness of its dressing. Nothing is cooked except the eggs and truffles, so assembly and timing are the whole job.
- Pickled nasturtium seedsThe green seed pods of Tropaeolum majus, brined and pickled in vinegar; they were a common home-made stand-in for capers. Nonpareil capers, drained and rinsed, substitute at about the same volume, though a full cup is a great deal of caper for two cups of celery — half a cup is a more balanced starting point.
- Boiled trufflesTruffles in this period were often cooked before use, simmered in wine or stock, and tinned truffles came already cooked. Fresh truffle today is shaved raw and would be wasted here; a small tin of black truffle peelings, or truffle-free, is the practical choice.
- French dressingIn American books of this era this means a simple oil-and-vinegar dressing, roughly three parts oil to one of vinegar with salt and pepper, whisked or shaken to a temporary emulsion. It is not the sweetened orange-coloured bottled dressing that later took the name.
- Celery in inch lengthsCut the ribs crosswise into batons rather than fine dice — the recipe wants a distinct crunch against the soft egg and the pickles. Chill the cut celery in ice water for twenty minutes and drain well, or the dressing will slide off wet stalks.
- Sieved yolkPush the hard-boiled yolks through a fine sieve while still slightly warm; cold yolk crumbles into pellets instead of the fine mimosa-like dust intended as garnish. The recipe adds the garnish first and pours the dressing over it, so dress with a light hand if you want the yolk to stay distinct.
- Dress at the tableNasturtium seeds and capers are already acidic, so dress lightly and only just before serving. Lettuce leaves used as an underliner collapse within minutes of contact with vinegar.
- YieldThe quantities suggest roughly four as a first course or side salad, on individual leaves of butter or romaine lettuce.