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.
It all sounds divine!
ReplyDeleteYou're having quite a spring of foraging. Perhaps the warmer than usual winter and early spring was good for local foods. Enjoy.
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