salsify

American  

[sal-suh-fee] / ˈsæl sə fi /

noun

salsifies plural

1. a purple-flowered, composite plant, Tragopogon porrifolius, whose root has an oyster-like flavor and is used as a culinary vegetable.

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salsify British  

/ ˈsælsɪfɪ /

noun

1. Also called: oyster plant.   vegetable oyster.  a Mediterranean plant, Tragopogon porrifolius, having grasslike leaves, purple flower heads, and a long white edible taproot: family Asteraceae (composites)

2. the root of this plant, which tastes of oysters and is eaten as a vegetable

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Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

noun

• salsifies
  plural

Etymology

Origin of salsify

1690–1700; < French salsifis, variant of sassefy, sassef ( r ) ique < Italian sassef ( r ) ica ) < ?

Example Sentences

There is nothing in L.A. remotely like his salad of wild-caught Burgundy snails, his duck breast with salsify, or his spectacular, saffron-intensive take on the Provençal fish stew bourride.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 31, 2017

Also blinis with caviar, made to order on a spirit stove, salad of salsify and chopped egg, custard tart, Billecart-Salmon rosé.

From The New Yorker • Mar. 27, 2017

Things That Are rejoices in flora such as salsify.

From The Guardian • Jun. 9, 2013

I liked the sharp tang of caramelized Nicoise olives and the hint of licorice in a quartet of rare diver scallops interspersed with lobes of seared foie gras and crunchy batons of fried salsify.

From Seattle Times • Jun. 24, 2010

Then it was spinach, followed by kohlrabi, salsify, cucumbers, tomatoes, sauerkraut, etc., etc.

From "The Diary of a Young Girl" by Anne Frank