Silvanesti Fruit-Cheese Salad

Join me as I make Silvanesti Fruit-Cheese Salad – From Tika’s Cookbook for the first time! This is a recipe from Leaves from the Inn of the Last Home sourcebook, originally released in 1987. The recipes are compiled by Tika Waylan Majere. You can buy Leaves from the Inn of the Last Home here: https://amzn.to/3FOuL2J

From Tika’s Cookbook

Silvanesti Fruit-Cheese Salad

The tropical nature of many of the ingredients
of this salad suggests that it originates from Istar,
the major sea-trading port before the Cataclysm.
Elven clerics introduced these fruits to their kin
in Silvanesti. Attuned co the land and able to
shape it with magical craft, the elves soon learned
to grow these alien fruits in their own soil despite
the cooler climate. Still, since such fruits are relatively
rare, this dish is considered a delicacy.

1 small, fresh pineapple (or I can
chunks or tidbits)
1 large, seedless orange
20 (approx.) seedless red or black
grapes
20 (approx.) seedless white or green
grapes
1 kiwi fruit
1 fresh lemon, or 2 tablespoons juice
1 heaping tablespoon soft cream
cheese
1 pear cut into bite-size pieces
(optional)
15-20 sweet cherries, pitted and
halved (optional)

Peel, core, and slice pineapple into bite-size
pieces. Use about 1 cup and save the rest (freeze
for later use). If using canned pineapple, drain
juice. Peel and section orange. Cut each section
into three pieces. Slice grapes in half. Mix pineapple,
orange, and grapes with 1 tablespoon of
the lemon juice until all pieces are covered.

Mix softened cream cheese with remaining
lemon juice until smooth. Add to fruit mixture,
blending until all pieces are coated.
Peel and slice kiwi fruit, using it to garnish
edges of salad. Refrigerate at least 2 hours to let
flavors meld. Serve cold.

Transcript

Cold Open

Calling this a fruit-cheese salad is like calling Tarsis the center of fresh seafood, post cataclysm.

Intro

Today I am making Silvanesti Fruit-Cheese Salad from Tika’s Cookbook in Leaves from the Inn of the Last Home. If you have made this recipe, share your thoughts in the comments below!

Discussion

This is as basic a fruit salad as you can make, but rather than buy a bunch of canned fruit, and knowing I was headed to a bar-be-que later in the evening, I opted to make it all from scratch. I am fortunate enough to live in a location where I can access all of the fruits, out-of-season. There is of course a premium paid, and all together, buying double the ingredients, I was in sixty bucks before I started filming. That is steep for a fruit salad, so I would highly recommend waiting for ingredients to be in season, growing the ones you can yourself, and substituting the ones that are out of your price range.

This recipe calls for one small, fresh pineapple (or one can chunks or tidbits), one large, seedless orange, twenty (approximately) seedless red of black grapes, twenty (approximately) seedless white or green grapes, one kiwi fruit, one fresh lemon, or two-tablespoons juice, one heaping tablespoon soft cream cheese, one pear cut into bite-size pieces (optional), and fifteen-twenty sweet cherries, pitted and halved (optional).

The recipe instructions actually left out some of the fruit, but one can infer what it was going for based on the fruits it did include. I referenced the instructions that came on the pineapple on how to cut it, though I have done it differently in the past. As long as you end up with bite sized chunks of every fruit, you should be good-to-go. I cut off the head and tail, quartered, removed the skin & core, and cut a quarter into chunks. This gave me the full cup required. Then I peeled the orange, separated each piece and cut them into thirds. The grapes I sourced were smaller than I am used to, again, they are out of season, but I followed the directions with the amount and then halved them. I did this for both the white and red grapes.

Next I halved the cherries, removing the stems and seeds. This was tedious, and my wife showed me another way of removing the seeds with a straw. I would recommend that method over the one I used here. I halved the pear, removed its seeds, then cut it into chunks. I was fortunate the pear was ripe. Then, because I am ‘like’ a professional, I halved the lemon and squeezed its juice into the fruit bowl. I did feel a single seed go through my fingers, but I got it out… wait, err, yes….. There! I got it. It’s all good now. I mixed the fruit, coating it all with the lemon. Then I set the salad aside, and took a heaping tablespoon of soft cream cheese and added it to the other half of the lemon, which had no seeds by the way, and tried to mix it until it was smooth. I was more or less successful. Remember, I was on a time table, so I was trying to hurry. Then I folded the cheese mixture into the salad making sure to coat all of the fruit. I transferred it to a presentation bowl, peeled and sliced the kiwi, added it to the edges of the salad, and let it chill in the refrigerator for at least two hours. This allows the flavors to set. I made another batch, again, I was headed to a bar-be-que, and added it to the bowl, and garnished the top with another kiwi.

This was a delicious fruit salad that was a massive hit with my friends. If you have the ability to try it, I would highly recommend it. Perhaps in the future I would soak the cherries in brandy before adding them so the salad has a bit of a sweet alcoholic element that is an accent rather than a feature to the dish.