This recipe is called Mayhem Salad because I served it at a party that happened at the same time as a college event called Mayhem. Also, I couldn't work out what else to call it. The important thing here is the presentation. I used large, round, green glass plates for all of these, and it looked very effective. Next time I do this I will take some photos and put them up here.
Arrange raw, rinsed baby sweetcorn cobs around a plate like the spokes of a wheel, with the pointy ends to the centre of the plate. Scatter over a few thinly-sliced rings of red onion, trying to make it look as though they are spilling out from the centre of the wheel.
Use green and yellow patty pan squash (larger Sainsbury's sell these in packets). You could use them raw, but I simmered them whole for 5 minutes, then cooled them quickly under the cold tap. Slice them in half from top to bottom. Arrange alternate colours around the outside of a plate, cut side down.
Fill the centre of the plate with cherry tomatoes; I think it looks prettier if you leave the green bits on the top. If the patty pan halves start to slide around, pat the water off the cut surfaces with a tissue or clean tea towel, and replace them.
Separate the leaves from heads of chicory, trimming the bottoms straight as you go along. When you get to the last few leaves, leave them attached to the chicory heart, and trim the bottom of the heart as for the leaves. Rinse everything and pat dry. Also rinse some sugar snap peas, but don't top and tail them.
Stand the chicory hearts in the centre of a large plate, and begin to stand the other leaves up around them, reassembling into a kind of large chicory head. Use the smaller leaves first, and if any won't stand up, make sure their bottom edges are trimmed straight.
When all the chicory leaves are used, spread the sugar snap peas around the edge of the plate. You can use them to help prop the chicory up, too, if it's being difficult.
Kake's (Vegan) Cookery Site - http://www.earth.li/~kake/cookery/
This page added 4 May 1998
- comments and questions to
Kake L Pugh (kake@earth.li).