Tag Archive for 'foraging'

Nettle Pasta with Fava Beans

Published
by
marc
on May 14, 2008
in Pasta, Vegetable and Vegetarian
. 18 Comments

My refrigerator is retarded. Items left on the top shelf spoil because it’s not cool enough up there. Things on either of the bottom two shelves, especially towards the back tend to freeze. I’ve always thought of this as a curse (have you ever seen frozen tofu?), but today it actually ended up working out.

I was digging through the back of the fridge looking for some inspiration and I found a ziplock back with a small fistful of boiled stinging nettles. Those of you that remember my foraging expedition might remember the stinging nettles I picked (and never cooked with). Though it’s been almost a month, the little baggie of boiled nettles made it to the back of the fridge where it froze solid allowing me to resurrect it in this pasta today:-)

Honestly the nettles didn’t really add much flavor to the pasta, but it does make it a nice green color. This was my first time using my newest Kitchen Aid attachment (pasta roller) so the pasta didn’t exactly turn out gorgeous, but I’d have to say this was far better (and easier) than the hand crank contraptions I’ve used in the past. The burly motor in the Kitchen Aid makes short work of the rolling process, and because you don’t have to turn a crank, you have both hands free to feed and catch the pasta on the other end.

Nettle pasta going through the Kitchen Aid powered pasta machine


Finished nettle pasta ready to hit the pot.

I really like to keep pastas very simple highlighting just one or two of the ingredients. In this case I wanted the pasta and fava beans to be the stars since they both take a fare amount of work to prepare. The Pecorino Grand Cru, an aged sheepsmilk cheese gives the fresh pasta some depth and umami while the lemon and pepper brighten it up. Fava beans, when lightly boiled and shelled have a texture a bit like edamame, but they are much sweeter and have a flavor similar to peas.

Continue for full recipe

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Orecchiette with ramps and fiddleheads

Published
by
marc
on April 22, 2008
in Dinner, Pasta and Spring
. 10 Comments

Having brought home quite a haul from our little foraging expedition, my head was abuzz with all the possibilities. While foraging I was worried I might not be able to use everything we’d picked. By the time I was done with this meal, I realized I should have gotten more.

This simple pasta dish just tastes like spring. Lightly sauteed, the ramps are sweet with a mild garlicy flavor that goes really well with the smokey bacon. The fiddleheads don’t have a ton of their own flavor but they’re slightly sweet and add a nice texture to the dish. If you want to make this vegetarian, just omit the bacon and use a tablespoon of olive oil instead of a teaspoon.

1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
2 strips thick cut Berkshire bacon chopped
1 large handful of ramps roughly chopped
1/2 C fiddleheads par-boiled
freshly ground pepper
8 oz orecchiette pasta boiled according to package
shaved pecorino romano

Start the pasta while preping the rest of the ingredient, but wait until your pasta is done and drained before you start cooking the rest. I just use the pot the pasta comes out of to make the bacon and veggies.

Add the oil to a hot pan over medium high heat, then add the bacon. Fry until the bacon is slightly brown around the edges (but not crispy)

Add the ramps and fiddleheads and saute lightly, adding a pinch of salt and freshly ground pepper to taste. Add the pasta and toss to coat.

Serve with shaved Pecorino Romano.

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Foraging for Spring

Published
by
marc
on April 21, 2008
in Ingredients
. 12 Comments
      

I finally got impatient for Spring to come to the Union Square Green Market and decided to take matters into my own hands. Wildman Steve Brill takes groups to the various parks in and around New York City to collect wild edibles growing right under our noses. This weekend he had a tour up at the Crestwood Riverside in Westchester, which is one of those “jogging” parks bordered on one side by a highway and the other by railroad tracks. While the environment doesn’t sounds too appealing the roster of items along the tour included ramps, fiddleheads, stinging nettles, field garlic, wild ginger and violets.

I called up, reserved a spot, and found myself traipsing through stands of Japanese Knotweed and fields of cut-leaf toothwort, in search of some of my favorite Spring-time delicacies. After a lackluster start, we came upon a small patch of stinging nettle.

These little shrubs have thousands of hollow needles filled with formic acid (a skin irritant). You need to handle them with gloves otherwise you’re hands turn red and burn. I’m not sure how someone figured this out, but when you cook them, the needles wilt and the toxins are neutralized so you can eat it without the unpleasant side-effects. It has a green flavor and is delicious added to pasta or soups.


Once we got past the nettles, there were a few ramps scattered about. The clusters grew more and more dense until we were surrounded by a field of these glorious members of the onion family. They’re like a cross between baby leeks and garlic with tender, slightly sweet leaves and a small bulb at the bottom. Someone needs to figure out how to make these things more hardy so grocery stores will carry them at a more reasonable price. By far my favorite thing to forage for, and quite possibly my favorite vegetable.

After scouring the park for 2 hours, we hit the foraging jackpot with the first sighting of these little green fiddleheads emerging from the forrest floor. These little guys are only in season for a few days and we managed to catch the tail end of their short season. They’re the spring shoots of the Ostrich fern and can only be eaten when they’re curled up and first erupting from the ground. Slightly sweet and with a texture like young asparagus, these are delicious steamed with a bit of lemon and olive oil, or sauteed and added to a pasta.

Overall it went well and I may have to head back up there this weekend for more ramps. As for the tour guide, he’s great. If you live in the NY/CT area, he has tours almost all year long picking everything from spring greens, to summer berries, to fall mushrooms.

Here is the rest of my haul, click on the thumbnails for more detailed description.

        
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