Noma’s Summer Berry and Fermented Fruit Salad with Herbs
Ripe summer berries — strawberries, raspberries, and gooseberries — dressed with a lacto-fermented fruit vinaigrette and scattered with fresh herbs, edible flowers, and crème fraîche or skyr. This salad-dessert hybrid appeared during Noma’s summer menus and is deeply rooted in the restaurant’s philosophy of using fermentation to deepen and focus seasonal flavour. The lacto-fermented berry juice used as the base of the vinaigrette concentrates the fruit’s natural sweetness and adds a clean, almost effervescent acidity that lifts rather than masks.
Ingredients (serves 4)
| Ingredient | Amount |
|---|---|
| Fresh strawberries, hulled and halved | 200 g |
| Fresh raspberries | 150 g |
| Fresh gooseberries or redcurrants | 100 g |
| Fermented plum or lacto-fermented blueberry juice | 3 tbsp |
| Elderflower vinegar or champagne vinegar | 1 tbsp |
| Cold-pressed rapeseed oil | 2 tbsp |
| Honey | 1 tsp |
| Flaky sea salt | small pinch |
| Fresh tarragon leaves | 1 tbsp |
| Fresh lemon balm or lemon verbena | 1 tbsp |
| Bronze fennel fronds | small handful |
| Edible flowers (nasturtium, borage, or wood sorrel) | to garnish |
| Crème fraîche or thick skyr | 4 tbsp |
Method
- Prepare the vinaigrette: whisk fermented fruit juice with elderflower vinegar, rapeseed oil, honey, and a small pinch of flaky salt until emulsified. Taste — it should be tart, floral, and slightly sweet. Adjust with more vinegar or honey.
- Place the strawberries and gooseberries in a bowl. Spoon over half the vinaigrette and let macerate at room temperature for 10 minutes.
- Gently fold in raspberries (they are too delicate for long maceration).
- Place a spoonful of crème fraîche or skyr in the centre of each chilled plate, spreading slightly.
- Spoon the macerated berries over and around the dairy, letting their juices pool naturally.
- Scatter tarragon, lemon balm, fennel fronds, and edible flowers. Spoon remaining vinaigrette over.
- Serve immediately — this dish waits for no one.
Notes
- Lacto-fermented berry juice can be made by combining crushed berries with 2% salt by weight, sealing in a jar, and fermenting at room temperature for 3–5 days. Strain before using.
- If fermented juice is unavailable, substitute Äkta Swedish lingonberry juice or a small amount of shrub (fruit-vinegar syrup).
- The crème fraîche can be lightly whipped with a pinch of salt and a drop of elderflower cordial.
- This dish is best in July–August when berries are at peak ripeness.
Dressing: Noma-Lacto-Fermented-Fruit-Vinaigrette