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I talked to my dad this morning and asked him of all the food his mom cooked, what were his favorites? He had two right off the top of his head: maccaroni & cheese (the ‘real’ stuff, no out-of-the-box back in those days!) and salsify. So what in the heck (you might be asking at this moment) is salsify?

Salsify is a carrot-like root vegetable with a mild oyster taste. Here’s the Wikipedia description:

“Tragopogon, also known as salsify or goatsbeard, is a genus of flowering plants in the sunflower family Asteraceae that has over 140 species, including the vegetable known as salsify, as well as a number of common wild flowers, some of which are usually regarded as weeds. The vegetable called salsify is usually the root of purple salsify, Tragopogon porrifolius; the root is described as having the taste of oysters (hence the alternative common name “oyster plant” for some species in this genus), but more insipid with a touch of sweetness. The young shoots of purple salsify can also be eaten, as well as young leaves.”

I remember eating my granny’s salsify side dish and I loved the stuff, but then again, I am also very partial to oysters so it stands to reason I would like salsify. It was made very similarly to maccaroni & cheese, but without the cheese, if that makes any sense. I do remember that she used crushed saltine crackers rather than bread crumbs for her casserole toppings.

In researching some vintage recipes, I found one that sounds like what she used to make if you substitute the crushed saltines for the bread crumbs. It is found in Vaughan’s Vegetable Cook Book (1919) and it is called ‘Escalloped Salsify’:

Instructions

“Cook salsify in salted water until tender, alternate it in a baking dish with bread crumbs seasoned with pepper and salt, and dot with butter. Moisten it with cream or milk and a little melted butter, cover the top with bread crumbs dotted with butter, and bake a light brown.”

Now comes the challenge ...... to find some salsify seeds and see if I can get it to grow in MY garden. Just curious .... anyone else familiar with ‘salsify’? Most folks have never heard of it.