Sunday, April 29, 2012

Green feast


I have to be quick: there are ribs sizzling in the oven. But I am on a forager's high...

Our trip to Dead Horse Bay today yielded unexpected bounty: wild lettuce! It looks a lot like a giant dandelion, with long, tender green leaves, no hairs or spikes, and the very mildest of bitterness. As well as the tell-tale white latex when you slice it. We have a salad of the torn up leaves coming up, with a warm bacon and vinegar dressing, and some creamy avocado cubes added for bland but rich comfort.

The ribs were tossed in a fresh herb rub of the first, most tender little bayberry tips - the leaves that appear on the very points of the shrubs' branches. I added powdered sumac and lemon juice, and a handful of chopped field garlic, also gathered there.

Our vegetable will be poke. Phytolacca americana - its firm, juicy stalks blanched thrice before being cooked in a reduction of lemon juice, one anchovy and a little butter.

I am in heaven.

2 comments:

  1. You're having quite a spring of foraging. Perhaps the warmer than usual winter and early spring was good for local foods. Enjoy.

    ReplyDelete

Comments on posts older than 48 hours are moderated (for spam control) . Yours will be seen! Unless you are a troll. Serial trollers are banned.