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

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Sochan with Venison Bacon, Ramps and Maple Vinegar

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Sochan with venison bacon ramps and maple vinegar recipe It’s Sochan season, and while I was reminded of it in a big way while hunting morels in a flood plain forest. There were lots of familiar plants (no morels), but most of all I was struck by the Rudbeckia laciniata / Sochan—it was everywhere I turned. The colonies seemed to go as far as I could see. Struggling to keep my focus on morels (and struggling to find a single one) I called the days mushroom hunt a wash, switched gears, and packed my foraging backpack and the extra bag I was carrying full of Sochan.

Edible sochan or Rudbeckia laciniata

Sochan. I like a good amount of stem on mine.

I had a specific recipe in mind, a simple dish of wilted Sochan with all-local components. It was simple, but special: wilted sochan cooked in the rendered fat of my venison bacon with some wild leeks (ramps) the crowning glory being a good splash of homemade maple vinegar, which was a common acid Native Americans might use to season wild greens.
Sochan with venison bacon ramps and maple vinegar recipe

Mmmm. Bacon.

Sochan with venison bacon ramps and maple vinegar recipe
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Sochan with venison bacon and maple vinegar

Sochan with venison bacon and maple vinegar is an all-local take on a classic dish of wilted greens with bacon and vinegar.
Prep Time10 mins
Cook Time10 mins
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Sochan, Venison bacon, Wild greens
Servings: 4

Ingredients

  • 8 ounces Sochan I used sochan, lamb's quarters, and galinsoga
  • 2 oz venison bacon diced 1 inch
  • Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
  • 1/2 Tablespoon cooking oil (if your bacon is fatty you may not need this)
  • 1 oz Chopped wild onions, ramp bulbs, shallots or scallions
  • 1 Tablespoon maple vinegar, or to taste Apple cider vinegar is a good substitute

Instructions

  • Trim the greens of any very hard stems, miscolored parts, bugs or insects. Meanwhile, bring a pot of salted water to a boil, it should be salty enough to taste like the sea.
  • Have bowl filled with very cold water ready.
  • Add the greens to the pot and cook until just tender and thoroughly wilted, about 30 seconds to one minute. Remove the greens to the cold water, swish them around to quickly chill, and function as a second wash to remove any debris.
  • Drain the greens and squeeze most of the water out, but not all. From here the greens can be frozen, or refrigerated for up to 5-7 days, as the salted water extends the shelf life of the greens. Coarsely chop the greens to break up stems, I like to do this in a cross-hatch pattern.
  • To finish, add the bacon to a pan, preferably cast iron, and begin rendering on medium heat with the oil. When the bacon is crisp to your liking, and some fat has rendered out, add the greens, reduce the heat to low just to warm the greens through.
  • Stir the wild greens to mix with the bacon and fat, then double check the seasoning, adjust as needed, season with the maple vinegar and serve immediately.

More 

Sochan 

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FORAGER | CHEF®
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Author: The Forager Chef’s Book of Flora
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Alan Bergo
I liked the staff meal I made for Mondays shoot so I liked the staff meal I made for Mondays shoot so much we filmed it instead of the original dish I’d planned. 

Cooked natural wild rice (not the black shiny stuff) is great hot, cold, sweet or savory. It’s a perfect, filling lunch for a long day of berry picking. 

I make them with whatever I have on hand. Mushrooms will fade into the background a little here, so I use a bunch of them, along with lots of herbs and hickory nut oil + dill flowers. 

I’m eating the leftovers today back up in the barrens (hopefully) getting some more bluebs for another shoot this week w @wild.fed 

#wilwilwice #wildrice #chanterelles #campfood #castironcooking
Baby’s first homegrown mushrooms! Backyard wine Baby’s first homegrown mushrooms! Backyard wine caps on hardwood sawdust from my lumberjack buddy.

Next up blewits. Spawn from @northsporemushrooms

#winecaps #strophariaaeruginosa #allthemushroomtags
It’s wild cherry season. I’ll be picking from It’s wild cherry season. I’ll be picking from my favorite spot tomorrow a.m. and have room for a couple helpers. It’s at an event on a farm just south of St. Cloud. 

If you’re interested send me a message and I’ll raffle off the spots. Plenty of cherries to go around. I’ll be leading a short plant walk around the farm too. 

#chokecherries #foraging #prunusvirginiana #summervibes
Special thanks to the beach in Ashland for hooking Special thanks to the beach in Ashland for hooking it up with on-site garnishes. Beach pea flowers taste strong and leguminous, similar to vetch, or like a rich tasting pea shoot. 

#lathyrusjaponicus #beachpeas #peaflower #foraging #northshore #bts
Great, long day of filming in near the south shore Great, long day of filming in near the south shore of Lake Superior yesterday. 

Blueberries were sparse, and some kind of blight seems to be affecting the serviceberries. Chanterelles weren’t as good as 2020, but they were there. 

Quick dip in the Lake Superior after we broke set was a bonus. 

W/ @barebonesliving  @misterberndt @jesseroesler

#barebonesliving #foraging #lakesuperiorrocks #serviceberries #chanterelles #bts
Green ramp seed make a great lactoferment. Just pu Green ramp seed make a great lactoferment. Just put the green seeds in brine in a jar, leave for 2 weeks. 

After they’re sour they can be water bath processed, although I’ve stored them at room temp without an issue too. 

Finished product is great minced or puréed into places where you’d like garlic, capers, or both. 

Makes a great tzatziki with a little crumbled, dried bee balm. 

#tzatziki #ramps #rampseeds #foraging #fermentation
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