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Award-winning chef, author and forager Alan Bergo. Food is all around you.

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Garlic Mustard Shoots with Ramp Butter

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Garlic mustard shoots with ramp leaf butter recipeOh garlic mustard. Let me count the ways I hate thee. Seriously, I hate this plant, it’s nothing less than a scourge on the woodlands and sugarbushes in my area, so when I eat it, it’s usually seasoned with plenty of spite. That being said, I do have a couple garlic mustard recipes that actually taste good, and this is probably my favorite of them all. 

Sure, I know plenty of people that like to eat it, “eat the invasives” they say, as if plucking a few leaves here and there actually makes a difference–garlic mustard cares not for your Instagram photos of it made into pesto.

The basal leaves are strongly bitter, and I don’t do too much with them besides make some ricotta dip once in a while for the nastalgia of recreating an old restaurant recipe I used to make. But, I have to admit that the shoots, now those are actually good.

Garlic mustard shoots or Alliaria petiolata

Garlic mustard shoots would be pretty damn attractive, if the plant wasn’t such an invasive bastard where I live.

Meristematic magic

Now, I don’t know exactly what’s happening with garlic mustard shoots, but they don’t taste nearly as strong as the early basal leaves. The shoots are tender, long and silky, a bit like thin asparagus, and the bitterness is still there, but it’s tamed a bit–a similarity I see with lots of different plants with strong flavors when you eat different, young growing parts. 

Cow parsnip blossoms and angelica blossoms, as well as the hearts of the plant, can be tossed directly in a pan and cooked and are delicious, where if you took the leaves of the plant and cooked them they would taste strong like some kind of medicine. 

It’s something to do with the magic of meristematic, young growing plant tissue. Whatever it is, I’ll actually harvest garlic mustard shoots and enjoy them as a vegetable, and they are, to me, the best part of the plant by far. They’re even better when you melt some ramp leaf butter over them.

Calming the flavor by blanching or soaking 

Garlic mustard shoots, even though they’re more mild than the leaves, will still have a strong flavor for some people. If you want to like this plant, but are struggling to get past the bitterness, take a page from the Italians: 

Blanch the garlic mustard in boiling water until it’s tender and tastes good to you. After blanching, remove the greens and or shoots to a bowl of cool water and allow to soak for a few hours.

If you really want to mellow the flavor, change the water a couple times or soak them overnight. This is a common practice in Italy and the Mediterranean for working with strong-tasting plants. 

Garlic mustard shoots with ramp leaf butter recipe

Garlic mustard shoots with ramp leaf butter recipe
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Garlic mustard shoots with ramp leaf butter

Simple blanched garlic mustard shoots served drizzled with melted ramp leaf butter is a great spring side dish.
Prep Time5 mins
Cook Time2 mins
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Garlic Mustard, Ramp Leaf Recipes
Servings: 2

Ingredients

  • 8 oz garlic mustard shoots
  • 4 tablespoons ramp leaf butter or more to taste
  • Toasted sesame seeds a sprinkle to garnish, optional

Instructions

  • Cut the shoots into manageable lengths like asparagus.
  • Meanwhile, bring a pot of salted water to a boil (roughly 1 tablespoon per quart).
  • Blanch the garlic mustard shoots until just tender (try one). It shouldn't take too long, and I generally blanch most things for under a minute to make sure they keep their integrity.
  • Don't hammer them, they should still have some life, if your shoots end up mushy you went too far. Meanwhile, melt the ramp leaf butter--a microwave is fine. Make sure to inhale the aroma of garlic breadsticks that comes off of it.
  • Remove the blanched shoots and drain well, then put on a serving plate, drizzle all over with the ramp leaf butter and sesame and eat hot.

More 

Garlic Mustard

Wild Ramp Butter 

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Previous Post: « Spring Venison Terrine with Ramp Leaves
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FORAGER | CHEF®
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Author: The Forager Chef’s Book of Flora
James Beard Award ‘22
Host: Field Forest Feast 👇
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Alan Bergo
HALP! I’ve been keeping an eye on two loaded mul HALP! I’ve been keeping an eye on two loaded mulberry trees and both got a bunch of fruit knocked down by the storms and wind. 

If anyone in West WI or around the Twin Cities knows of some trees, (ideally on private property but beggars can’t be choosers) that I could climb and shake with a tarp underneath, shoot me a DM and let’s pick some! 🤙😄

TIA

#throwadogabone #mansquirrel #beattlefruit #mulberries #shakintrees
Lampascioni, or edible hyacinth bulbs are one of t Lampascioni, or edible hyacinth bulbs are one of the more interesting things I’ve eaten. 

These are an ancient wild food traditionally harvested in Southern Italy, especially in Puglia and the Salentine Peninsula, as well as Greece and Crete. I’ve seen at least 6-7 different names for them. 

A couple different species are eaten, but Leopoldia comosa is probably the one I see mentioned the most. They also grow wild in North America. 

The bulbs are toxic raw, but edible after an extended boil. Traditionally they’re preserved in vinegar and oil, pickled, or preserves in other methods using acid and served as antipasti. (Two versions in pic 3). 

They’re one of the most heavily documented traditional wild foods I’ve seen. There’s a few shots of book excerpts here.

The Oxford companion to Italian Food says you can eat them raw-don’t do that. 

Even after pickling, the bulbs are aggressively extremely bitter. Definitely an acquired taste, but one that’s grown on me. 

#traditionalfoods #vampagioli #lampascione #cucinapovera #lampascioni #leopoldiacomosa #foraging
Went to some new spots yesterday looking for poke Went to some new spots yesterday looking for poke sallet and didn’t do too well (I’m at the tip of its range). I did see some feral horseradish though which I don’t see very often. 

Just like wild parsnip, this is the exact same plant you see in the store and garden-just escaped. 

During the growing season the leaves can be good when young. 

They have an aggressive taste bitter enough to scare your loved ones. Excellent in a blend of greens cooked until extra soft, preferably with bacon or similar. 

For reference, you don’t harvest the root while the plant is growing as they’ll be soft and unappealing-do that in the spring or fall. This is essentially the same as when people tell you to harvest in months that have an R in them. 

#amoraciarusticana #foraging #horseradishleaves #horseradish #bittergreens
In Italy chicken of the woods is known as “fungo In Italy chicken of the woods is known as “fungo del carrubo” (carob tree mushroom) as it’s one of the common tree hosts there. 

My favorite, and really the only traditional recipe I’ve found for them so far is simmered in a spicy tomato sauce with hot chile and capers, served with grilled bread. 

Here I add herbs too: fresh leaves of bee balm that are perfect for harvesting right now and have a flavor similar to oregano and thyme. 

Makes a really good side dish or app, especially if you shower it with a handful of pecorino before scooping it up with the bread. 

#chickenofthewoods #fungodelcarrubo #allthemushroomtags #traditionalfoods #beebalm
First of the year 😁. White-pored chicken of t First of the year 😁. 

White-pored chicken of the woods (Laetiporus cincinnatus) are my favorite chicken. 

Superior bug resistance, slightly better flavor + texture. They also stay tender longer compared to their more common yellow-pored cousins. Not a single bug in this guy. 

#treemeat #ifoundfood #foraging #laetiporuscincinnatus #chickenofthewoods
TBT brisket face 💦. Staff meal with @jesseroes TBT brisket face 💦. Staff meal with 
@jesseroesler and crew @campwandawega
📸 @misterberndt 

#staffmeal #brisket #meatsweats #naptime
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