May 1st. Iris, Freddie and I walked above the garden where there are many dead Elm trees, and where for the past several springs I have gleaned mess after mess of morels. We found our first batch! Iris was thrilled, and proud to find and pick a few herself. Growing up on the East coast, we never heard of or saw a morel, though my grandmother picked every other kind of wild mushroom. In order to determine if they were poisonous, she sauteed them with a dime. If the dime turned black, we could not eat them. I never recall the dime turning black, but then I wasn't always looking in the pan. I do remember delicious mushroom sandwiches on homemade bread.
Morels speak loudly of spring, and for me the first asparagus, vegetable of the Gods, is what spring tastes like. We had our first taste of the green spears last night in a great risotto.
When I was just a girl, my grandfather would come to our small town in the spring, from Buffalo. I loved my grandfather; his bald head, slightly stooped shoulders, and his almost indiscernable broken English. One of my fondest memories is walking hand and hand with him in the vast fields behind our house looking for Garduni, pictured above. You might recognize it from its fall remnants in the picture below. Burrs! Yes, garduni is Burdock, the bain of all farmers. For Sicilians it is highly sought after, and is still today sold in the Farmer's Markets in Buffalo, Chicago and the like. My family on the East coast drools each spring when I tell them we had our first garduni.
Oh, those sticky burrs!
This is the part of Burdock we eat. One must gather them in the early spring when they are still tender. Some people eat the roots, but we always ate the stems. They must be blanched first to rid them of their innate bitterness. Then gather a 'bundle' of the blanched stems, roll them in beaten egg, and then bread crumbs. Saute and serve with lemon juice. Morels, asparagus and garduni, now this is gourmet eating!
May 1st. Iris, Freddie and I walked above the garden where there are many dead Elm trees, and where for the past several springs I have gleaned mess after mess of morels. We found our first batch! Iris was thrilled, and proud to find and pick a few herself. Growing up on the East coast, we never heard of or saw a morel, though my grandmother picked every other kind of wild mushroom. In order to determine if they were poisonous, she sauteed them with a dime. If the dime turned black, we could not eat them. I never recall the dime turning black, but then I wasn't always looking in the pan. I do remember delicious mushroom sandwiches on homemade bread.
Morels speak loudly of spring, and for me the first asparagus, vegetable of the Gods, is what spring tastes like. We had our first taste of the green spears last night in a great risotto.
When I was just a girl, my grandfather would come to our small town in the spring, from Buffalo. I loved my grandfather; his bald head, slightly stooped shoulders, and his almost indiscernable broken English. One of my fondest memories is walking hand and hand with him in the vast fields behind our house looking for Garduni, pictured above. You might recognize it from its fall remnants in the picture below. Burrs! Yes, garduni is Burdock, the bain of all farmers. For Sicilians it is highly sought after, and is still today sold in the Farmer's Markets in Buffalo, Chicago and the like. My family on the East coast drools each spring when I tell them we had our first garduni.
Oh, those sticky burrs!
This is the part of Burdock we eat. One must gather them in the early spring when they are still tender. Some people eat the roots, but we always ate the stems. They must be blanched first to rid them of their innate bitterness. Then gather a 'bundle' of the blanched stems, roll them in beaten egg, and then bread crumbs. Saute and serve with lemon juice. Morels, asparagus and garduni, now this is gourmet eating!
2 comments:
ok. I've never eaten garduni, but with ramps and morels and watercress, stimulating my appetite already, I'm up for the next phase
Let me know if you try them. It is still a bit early, and I really had to scavange to find my first batch, but by next week they should be plentiful. The thickness of the stem should be about pinkie size.
Post a Comment