Wild Harvest Season
It’s that wonderfully wild time of year right now – that brief time when the morel mushrooms, the fiddlehead ferns, and the wild ramps all come into season at about the same time. This time of year is known to us folks at Earthy Delights as the “Wild Harvest,” and it’s our favorite time of year.
The Wild Harvest is an event that’s eagerly anticipated and much loved by gourmet cooks and amateur chefs throughout the country. It provides us with an opportunity, however fleeting, to savor some of the rich wildness of nature’s bounty. There’s really no way to adequately describe the woodsy richness of morel mushrooms sautéed in butter and garlic and served over toast with hot coffee and bacon. Sautéed ramps added to scrambled eggs with a sprinkling of diced ham and served over hot buttered toast are equally delicious, just as they are when added to a rich beef gravy along with a dash of sherry. Fiddleheads add elegance, substance, and a distinctly wild edge when used to flavor soups, or simply steamed and served with butter, salt and pepper.
Wild things that make their own ways in wild places deserve a special niche in our culinary repertoire. They get no help from us. No cultivation, no planting, no fertilizer or weeding. They tough it out on their own. In a wild world, where only the strong survive, these ingredients emerge with a distinctive edge – an elusive quality that puts them on the culinary map in many a gourmet kitchen. A wild ramp, for example, looks very much like a scallion, and they do in fact have similarities in the flavor department. But side-by-side, a taste comparison will leave the scallion looking very much like the routinely cultivated supermarket darling that it is. A ramp, on the other hand, is a scallion with attitude, defiance, and character.
Many of you by now have tried morel mushrooms for yourselves. They have a nutty, woodsy, flavor that leaves cultivated button mushrooms seeming lifeless and boring by comparison. The morel, also known by many as the Queen of the Forest, is delicious on its own, but can also do swimmingly well at lending its wildness to soups, sauces, and casseroles. Fiddleheads, when steamed to perfection, are still just a bit crunchy. In soufflés, casseroles, and all on their own, they make routine vegetables seem ordinary.
These wild ingredients can be very simple to cook. The morel flourishes, and is preferred by many a fine chef, when it’s just cleaned, trimmed, quartered, and fried in butter with some salt and pepper. Ramps are great when diced and tossed raw in salads. Fiddleheads need nothing more than a judicious steaming and some butter, salt and pepper.
On the other hand, these ingredients lend themselves very well to a variety of different dishes. In the spring, when evenings are still cool and appetites are on the prowl, soup is a wonderful way to experiment with wild ingredients. It’s hearty, it’s delicious, and when served with a cheese board, fresh fruit, and crusty bread, it can be truly elegant. Add a bottle of good wine and a tossed salad and you’ve got a feast on your hands.
The Wild Harvest is an event that’s eagerly anticipated and much loved by gourmet cooks and amateur chefs throughout the country. It provides us with an opportunity, however fleeting, to savor some of the rich wildness of nature’s bounty. There’s really no way to adequately describe the woodsy richness of morel mushrooms sautéed in butter and garlic and served over toast with hot coffee and bacon. Sautéed ramps added to scrambled eggs with a sprinkling of diced ham and served over hot buttered toast are equally delicious, just as they are when added to a rich beef gravy along with a dash of sherry. Fiddleheads add elegance, substance, and a distinctly wild edge when used to flavor soups, or simply steamed and served with butter, salt and pepper.
Wild things that make their own ways in wild places deserve a special niche in our culinary repertoire. They get no help from us. No cultivation, no planting, no fertilizer or weeding. They tough it out on their own. In a wild world, where only the strong survive, these ingredients emerge with a distinctive edge – an elusive quality that puts them on the culinary map in many a gourmet kitchen. A wild ramp, for example, looks very much like a scallion, and they do in fact have similarities in the flavor department. But side-by-side, a taste comparison will leave the scallion looking very much like the routinely cultivated supermarket darling that it is. A ramp, on the other hand, is a scallion with attitude, defiance, and character.
Many of you by now have tried morel mushrooms for yourselves. They have a nutty, woodsy, flavor that leaves cultivated button mushrooms seeming lifeless and boring by comparison. The morel, also known by many as the Queen of the Forest, is delicious on its own, but can also do swimmingly well at lending its wildness to soups, sauces, and casseroles. Fiddleheads, when steamed to perfection, are still just a bit crunchy. In soufflés, casseroles, and all on their own, they make routine vegetables seem ordinary.
These wild ingredients can be very simple to cook. The morel flourishes, and is preferred by many a fine chef, when it’s just cleaned, trimmed, quartered, and fried in butter with some salt and pepper. Ramps are great when diced and tossed raw in salads. Fiddleheads need nothing more than a judicious steaming and some butter, salt and pepper.
On the other hand, these ingredients lend themselves very well to a variety of different dishes. In the spring, when evenings are still cool and appetites are on the prowl, soup is a wonderful way to experiment with wild ingredients. It’s hearty, it’s delicious, and when served with a cheese board, fresh fruit, and crusty bread, it can be truly elegant. Add a bottle of good wine and a tossed salad and you’ve got a feast on your hands.
posted by JTH at 12:00 PM
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