stone fruit. purslane. and korean watercress salad. lunch for one.
07.25
The other day as I walked around the green market I had a stone fruit story churning in my head. I wasn't sure what I was going to do but I knew I wanted to make a salad of plums or peaches. So, with that in mind I started to pick up beautiful bits of this and that and slowly a salad began to form.
Two plums or one peach and one plum
A handful of purselane
A handful of Korean watercress
Mexican gherkins
Fresh dill flower
1 garlic scape
Sea salt
Extra virgin olive oil
Juice half a lime
1 teaspoon of rose syrup
Or maple syrup
The main ingredient in this salad is plum; everything else is just there to add a little bit of flavor and to play off the flavor of the plums.
Nothing here is that exotic, I found it all easily at the farmer’s market here in NYC. You can substitute and play around if you can’t find these exact ingredients. Embrace a little whimsy!
Stone fruit. Purslane. and Korean Watercress Salad.
Cut three medium size plums into small slices. Discard the pit. Use any kind. I used Elephant Heart and Santa Rosa plums.
Arrange the plums loosely on a plate.
Add a few sprigs of purselane ( a lemony tasting wild green )
Add a few sprigs of Korean watercress, which looks nothing like regular watercress. You can substitute celery leaf or parsley if you can’t find the watercress.
Cut in half a handful of Mexican Gherkins and sprinkle on top of the plums, again if you can’t find these use some other tender early cuke.
Add a few sprigs of dill flower, substitute dill if you can’t find dill flower
Thinly slice about an inch of garlic scape, use a finely chopped shallot or chive if you can’t find scape.
Sprinkle with a pinch of good crunchy seas salt
Squeeze the juice of half a lime over the salad
Drizzle with a good extra virgin olive oil
Finish with a teaspoon of rose syrup (I made my own from rose petals) If you can’t find a rose syrup then add a teaspoon of maple syrup!
It is all about improvising and throwing together whatever is in season.
Have fun! Let me know if you come up with any interesting summer salads!
Enjoy!
This salad is just about being inspired at the green market and then tossing it all together! Don’t be scared of combinations just be inspired by them. What is the worst thing that can happen?
More stone fruit recipes to come!!
Reader Comments (10)
Beauteous! I love Mexican gherkins. Keep wanting to do them in a salad with watermelon, as much for the visual play as anything.
One thing I do miss about summer is white peaches - juicy, sweet goodness!
Seriously, your photos are divine.
Also, save those peach leaves and pits, steep them in brandy and honey- great cooling nausea/ sour belly remedy. x
Brilliant.
Thank you, as ever, for your thoughtful and informed posts and wonderful photographs. Always amazed and inspired!
I too get that desire to eat random things growing in the city. There is a nice flower box by my apartment building where a few strawberries are planted. As soon as they redden, the strawberries disappear.
oops, that comment was for gherkins.
as noted above. you photos are incredible. might you share your lens choice with me?
Your photos remind me of the William Carlos Williams poem where he apologises for eating the plums in the ice box!
Your blog is Art, I love photo images here.
Thank you for inspiring me!