Nasturtium Salad

 

Nasturtium Salad

6 fresh nasturtium flowers
6 fresh nasturtium leaves
6 fresh basil leaves, chiffonade
6 fresh mint leaves, chiffonade
generous bunch of fresh baby spinach, stems removed
6 button mushrooms sliced
8 pickled quail eggs, sliced in half
1 mini pepper slices crosswise very thin
1/4 cup fresh blueberries
smoked salmon torn into medium pieces

Sometimes I want to be creative with what I have growing in my garden. After all the rain yesterday, I picked nasturtium flowers and leaves, and basil and mint leaves. I bought nasturtium starts from Turtle Rock Holistic; they are a vendor at the Union County Farmers Market. Read here for nasturtium health benefits. The pickled quail eggs were a gift; never had them, we shall see. The spinach and smoked salmon were purchased at Aldi. Gary says to me, "You eat the nasturtiums first". Does he think I'm going to poison him after almost 40 years of marriage? Geez Louise!

Prepare the spinach leaves by removing the stems (I don't like the stems), washing them and spinning dry. Slice your mushrooms. For a vinaigrette dressing I mixed up some white balsamic vinegar, olive oil, a dash of hot sauce, a bit of dijon mustard and salt and pepper and tossed the spinach and mushrooms in the dressing. I was rather disappointed with the quail eggs because the yolks were very pale but I sprinkled them with some paprika which improved their look. Place a bed of spinach and mushrooms on the plate, place the quail eggs, blueberries, mini pepper slices, and last top with the smoked salmon pieces, and nasturtium flowers and leaves. Enjoy!