Old Fashioned Roses and an English Garden Salad with Cheese and Eggs
Old Fashioned Roses and an English Garden Salad with Cheese and Eggs
Old Fashioned Roses: Charles de Mills by David Austin
Nodding seductively by the gate to the drive, are several beautiful old-fashioned shrub roses, some of them bought and some of them from cuttings by my very green-fingered mum, who simply sticks rose (and other plants) stems into soil and they all take! The scent is heady and powerful and whenever I am dead-heading them, or just weeding in general nearby, they remind me why I love these types of roses IN the garden, as opposed to the long-stem roses you buy from the supermarkets and florists; beautiful though they may be, they lack the soul and fragrance of an old-fashioned shrub rose. They only have a short flowering season, and only once a year too, but that enhances their musky beauty even more, as just like seasonal fruit and vegetables, you look forward to them blooming and are not too sad when they all fade, as their fragrance often lives on in a bowl of dried rose petals or as part of some home-made pot pourrie.
Old Fashioned Roses and an English Garden Salad with Cheese and Eggs
Mixed with daisies, forget-me-nots and honeysuckle, I place my freshly picked roses onto small glass yoghurt pots, and then rather than having a large vase of flowers (roses) I can scatter my little posies all around the house for maximum fragrance and enjoyment. I am a “posy” kinda gal, and much prefer the wild and unfettered beauty of a contrived posy to a formal arrangement, although, I can see the beauty and skill in more formal arrangements. With the sun finally shining and summer in full swing (fingers crossed) I am now well into “salad season” and although we eat salads all year around, there is something very seductive and pleasant about a bowl of soft sun-warmed lettuce leaves having just been freshly cut. And so my recipe today is one of my favourite summer salads, an English Garden Salad with fresh free-range eggs and English cheese.
Old Fashioned Roses and an English Garden Salad with Cheese and Eggs
This is a salad designed for salad cream, and NOT mayonnaise which would overpower the soft lettuce leaves, eggs and cheese. It’s a soft salad of carefully selected parts, with each part playing a vital role, and it’s my favourite salad of all time…..often made for my by my mum, and served simply with bread and butter, it can even shine brighter than a classic French salad. So, what makes it English? At risk of annoying my Scottish, Welsh and Irish friends and readers, I suppose it’s “Englishness” comes from what I was brought up with, and those soft, buttery leaves, such as Webbs and Butterhead lettuces. It’s NOT a showy salad such a salad Niçoise, it’s quiet and unassuming with that restrained “stiff upper lip” of “Englishness” running through it. It’s all about tea on the lawn, sitting in an old canvas deck chair, or Sunday afternoon tea at my grandmother’s house – it’s classy and well-bred without being showy.
Old Fashioned Roses and an English Garden Salad with Cheese and Eggs
It’s the perfect salad for a hot June day, and sits alongside my little posies of old-fashioned roses so well…….I DO make my own salad cream from time to time, and I WILL share that recipe very soon, but for now I am suggesting you use a quality commercial salad cream (unless you have some home-made to hand) and it’s the salad cream that brings all of the ingredients together. I hope you are all enjoying the summer (in the Northern hemisphere) and do give this quintessential English salad a try, with a few posies of roses on the table too, maybe! Before I go, let me share a photo of my two latest arrivals to the Coronation chicken run……Betty and Peggy, just finding their way around their new surroundings, with earth, and worms, and trees and grass, they have settled in very well already. That’s it for today, see you later, have a wonderful Wednesday, Karen
Peggy (Light Sussex) and Betty (Limousin) the new Hens on the block!
RECIPE:
Old Fashioned Roses and an English Garden Salad with Cheese and Eggs
English Garden Salad with Cheese and Eggs
Print recipe
| Serves | 2 |
| Prep time | 10 minutes |
| Cook time | 5 minutes |
| Total time | 15 minutes |
| Allergy | Egg |
| Dietary | Vegetarian |
| Meal type | Lunch, Main Dish, Salad, Side Dish, Snack, Starter |
| Misc | Child Friendly, Serve Cold |
| Occasion | Barbecue, Birthday Party, Casual Party, Easter, Formal Party, Valentines day |
| Region | British |
| By author | Karen S Burns-Booth |
Ingredients
- 1 small lettuce, with soft leaves
- 4 spring onions, trimmed and diced
- 1/4 cucumber, sliced
- 12 cherry tomatoes, halved
- 3 large free-range eggs, hard-boiled and quartered
- 60g grated English cheese, such as Red Leicester, Cheddar or Double Gloucester
- 3 to 4 tablespoons salad cream., home-made or quality shop-bought
- fresh chives, snipped for the garnish
- salt and pepper to taste
Note
An English summer garden of salad vegetables on a plate! Served with fresh free-range eggs, traditional English cheese and a generous dollop of the queen of all English dressings, Salad Cream! This is best served with freshly sliced bread and butter, for cucumber or egg sandwich making as enjoy the salad!
Directions
| Step 1 | Wash and spin the salad leaves and arrange them in two serving bowls. |
| Step 2 | Arrange the sliced cucumber and halved cherry tomatoes over the top of the leaves. |
| Step 3 | Add the hard-boiled egg quarters (6 per serving) and then scatter the grated cheese over the top. |
| Step 4 | Spoon the salad cream over the salad in small dollops, for ease of spreading when eating the salad and then finish off by sprinkling the snipped fresh chives over the top. |
| Step 5 | Serve with salt and pepper, to taste and some freshly sliced bread and butter for the ultimate English garden salad experience! |
| Step 6 | NB: The cooking time is for the boiled eggs. |
Old Fashioned Roses and an English Garden Salad with Cheese and Eggs
The salad was served with home-made Tiger Bread, recipe is here:
What’s in a Name? Tiger Bread, Giraffe Bread or Dutch Crunch – Tiger Bread Recipe
What’s in a Name? Tiger Bread, Giraffe Bread or Dutch Crunch – Tiger Bread Recipe
anna@annamayeveryday says
Karen, this salad looks delicious! It reminds me of salads when I was young, proper English ones although as I grew up in Yorkshire they were usually bolstered with a good slice or two of ham!
Karen says
Thanks so much Anna! Ah, well being a Yorkshire lass myself, I also agree that a good slice of York ham would just finish this off! 🙂 Karen
Susan says
Love this! But without the salad cream its just not the same is it? This will be my lunch tomorrow, thanks. xxx
Karen says
Thanks Sue! I am so pleased that there’s another salad cream lover out there, as well as me……I feel it is much maligned, but I LOVE it, especially with eggs and tomato! Karen
Anneli (Delicieux) says
Retro cool – you have photographed this so beautifully that I now must have this salad for lunch. 🙂
Karen says
Thanks Anneli! I was going to add this to your new challenge, but I have a BETTER one up my sleeve for you! Karen
Cherie says
Looks beautiful can’t wait for summer to try this!!! What is salad cream I have never heard of it?
Karen says
Thanks so much Cherie! Salad cream is a British salad dressing that is lower in calories and fat than mayonnaise and is made with white (spirit) vinegar, single cream, egg yolks, mustard and sometimes a little flour or cornflour. It was invented in 1914 by Heinz, but forms of this salad dressing have been around since Medieval times in the UK.
Dominic says
you paint a stunning picture of British summertime life Karen… that salad is simply perfection as far as I can see, so simple, so tasty and healthy… yummy stuff!
Karen says
Thanks Dom! I DO love a good egg salad, and with cheese it makes it even better! Karen
Choclette says
Not showy? With those brilliant yellow egg yolks ? It looks absolutely delightful and I’d be very happy to pop in for lunch if this was on offer. As for your flowers and posies, I’m in complete agreement with you. Old fashioned scented roses and garden flowers every time.
Karen says
Thanks Choclette, that’s the beauty of having free-range hens and an abundant supply of golden yolked eggs! Karen
Hussy London Housewife says
May be old fashioned. But a classic that will never fail !
A taste of childhood to bring back wonderful memories 😉
Carol Baker says
This is making my mouth water! One of my favourite cheeses is red leicester because of its versitility – i find it especially nice as a lasagne topping but it goes with most things – i shall be trying this at my earliest convenience 🙂
anthony harrington says
we have salad every day and cheese always makes it special!
Gilla01 says
Looks a fantastic salad, and this is just the weather for it! I bought some lovely free range eggs today, so looks as though todays meal is sorted.
Thanks.
Hazel Rea says
Gosh this takes me back to my childhood. I really must buy some Salad Cream!
Maggie Osborn says
Reminds me of the salads we used to have in summer 🙂
Tracy Nixon says
Shared via Facebook thanks!
anthony harrington says
this looks so pretty!
Maya Russell says
Just my kind of salad. Shared on Twitter, @maisietoo.
ANN ANGIE S. says
I am vegetarian, so this salad could be my lumch. Thanks for receip.
Maya Russell says
Shared again on Twitter, @maisietoo
Maya Russell says
The eggs look a good colour. Shared on Twitter,
@maisietoo
restaurantthatdeliversnearme.website says
thanks for the recipe.
Karen Burns-Booth says
My pleasure! Karen