Chatelaine recipe redux circa 1980: Salad

THEN: Seafood salad with white wine, 1980

Homer Simpson may have declared "You don't win friends with salad," but we beg to differ. Nowadays, spring is full of new and exciting food: farmers’ markets are brimming with fresh and vibrant produce, and salads are perfect for adding produce at their peak. But what about the salads of our past? We turn back time to find out whether we can win friends with this seafood salad.

Ingredients

• 250 g fresh or frozen scallops
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 2 tsp dry white wine
• 1 1/2 tsp finely chopped shallots
• 1 tsp chopped fresh dill
• 1/2 tsp anchovy paste
• Salt and white pepper
• 100 g mushrooms, thinly sliced

Instructions

• PLACE scallops in a saucepan of boiling salted water. Cover and simmer for 3 to 7 minutes, until tender. Drain immediately and run under cold water to chill. Pat dry with paper towels.
• SLICE large scallops in half. Meanwhile, measure sour cream, wine, shallots, dill, anchovy paste, salt and white pepper into a large bowl. Whisk together until blended. Stir in scallops and mushrooms. Taste and adjust seasonings.
• REFRIGERATE; serve within 3 to 4 hours. Spoon salad on lettuce-lined plate. Garnish with dill. Serves two. Dressing can be made a day ahead and refrigerated. Just before serving, cook and add scallops and thinly sliced mushrooms.

NOW: Seafood salad with white wine, 2013

The verdict from our re-test? Who would have thought that raw mushrooms and poached scallops would be such a winning combination? Letting the salad sit in the fridge for a couple of hours softened the mushrooms and mellowed the flavours. The splash of wine was the perfect retro touch.

TIP: We couldn't find any anchovy paste, so we substituted with 1/2 tsp mashed anchovy fillets.