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

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Wilted Amaranth With Garlic, and Summer Wild Mushrooms

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Wilted Amaranth With Summer Mushrooms and GarlicAmaranth is such a great plant. Like most of my favorite greens, the majority of people are probably just going to pull it out of their garden as a weed, and I get that, but if you have some growing you’re doing yourself a disservice not trying it at least once-I guarantee you’ll be hooked. When it’s young, I pluck the tender clusters of greens to add to salads, when It’s older I love to give it a quick wilt, just like spinach.

Amaranth

There’s a number of different types too, you have regular wild amaranth, which will be green, and should be Amaranthus retroflexus if I’m not mistaken. My favorite species is burgundy amaranth, which is a brilliant, purple-red color. At the farmer’s markets where I like to shop, the Hmong farmers often sell a hybrid variety of the two that’s both green and red, as you can see in the picture here.

Amaranth reaches it’s braising peak in the middle of summer, right around the time wild mushrooms are really starting to boom. It’s a natural thing to pair them together, and a fun way to combine all of the mushrooms I’ve picked in a day into a single dish when I need to stop hunting mushrooms and start eating them.

On the day I made this I didn’t have a haul of one particular mushroom, I came home with a mix of a couple different species: small bi-color boletes, club fungus, young white pored chicken of the woods, and hygrophorus russula. Be creative and make your own blend, it should be whatever is popping in your area.

Summer Wild Mushrooms

A mix of summer wild mushrooms. Top, L t R: Bi-Color Boletes, Club Fungus, Hygrophorus Russula, White pored Chicken of the Woods.

The greens too don’t even need to be amaranth, they could be a cultivated green like kale, or a blend of something, I really like lamb’s quarter and amaranth mixed together. Think of it as a choose your own adventure dish.

Wilted Amaranth With Summer Mushrooms and Garlic

Wilted Amaranth With Summer Mushrooms and Garlic
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Wilted Amaranth With Garlic, and Summer Wild Mushrooms

Serves 4 as a side dish
Prep Time15 mins
Cook Time10 mins
Course: Appetizer, Side Dish
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Amaranth, Summer wild mushrooms
Servings: 4

Ingredients

  • 1 lb amaranth greens washed and dried
  • 2-4 ounces depending on availability: mixed wild summer mushrooms see picture example above cleaned and trimmed into similar sized pieces
  • Kosher salt to taste, as needed
  • Crushed red pepper to taste, optional
  • 1 large clove garlic sliced as thin as possible
  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 2 tablespoons dry white wine a splash

Instructions

  • Heat the oil in a saute pan or cast iron skillet. When the butter is hot and sizzling, add the mushrooms and cook for a few minutes until lightly browned over medium high heat.
  • Turn the heat on the pan down to low, season the mushrooms to taste with salt, then move the mushrooms to one side of the pan and add the sliced garlic, and cook until lightly golden, stirring occasionally, about 4-5 minutes.
  • Add the pinch of red pepper flake if using, then add the splash of wine to stop the garlic from cooking, add the amaranth and cover the pan to allow it to steam and wilt for a few minutes, keeping the heat on low to prevent the amaranth from browning. Remove the lid and give the greens a good stir with some tongs or a wooden spoon, and put the lid back on for a moment if needed.
  • Taste the greens, adjust the seasoning for salt and pepper and adjust if needed, then transfer to a warm bowl and serve immediately. Sometimes at home I serve wilted greens like this right from the pan too.

Related

Previous Post: « “Last Chance” Cream Of Chanterelle Soup
Next Post: Sauteed Honey Mushroom Caps and Stems »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Kathleen Rodgers

    July 8, 2019 at 12:52 pm

    Which club fungus were you using ?

    Reply
    • Alan Bergo

      July 10, 2019 at 5:08 pm

      Those should be C. pistillaris, I eat them on occasion, they’re not bad at all, at least the ones I’ve tried. Typically growing with oak/hardwoods in MN.

      Reply

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FORAGER | CHEF®
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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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