A Wild Food Supper
If you live in the Welsh Valleys, at least near the banks of the Taf and Cynon rivers you'll know just how much of a nuisance Japanese knotweed and Himalayan balsam are. The Japanese knotweed are just starting to emerge now and as I've never been able to catch the plant at this new growth stage I've been out foraging for it (amongst other things). Young Japanese knotweed tastes a little like rhubarb and it makes an excellent base for a crumble. The young stems break down when you stew then (and you don't need to peel at this stage) so it's great for crumbles, pies and presrves. Young stands tend to have rather willowy growth and older stands have stouter emerging stems that rather resemble asparagus.
Both young stem types are good for stewing and I've now used them in crumbles, tarts and pies as well as jams, marmalades and chtneys. Older stout stems, where the leaves have emerged can be stripped of their leaves, peeled, sliced and made into quite a nice pickle. The slight tang of knotweed marries well with apples and is lifted by the addition of lemon juice.
I've also been experimenting to see just what you can make with knotweed. A friend many years ago mentioned its being prepared as a spring vegetable in Japan and, as the emerging stems look remarkably like asparagus, could I prepare them by roasting or frying? I reckoned they needed to be charred, so would have to be oiled and the flavour would be lifted using a little black pepper and smoked paprika.
So I took my stems, scraped them with a sharp knife to remove any leaf scales then soaked in water for 20 minutes to help remove the sliminess from them. As ever when foraging, I picked up a few other things as well, Scarlet Elf Cup mushrooms and ramson (bear garlic) greens. Having eggs, some cooked chicken that was left over and a rocket salad I decided to make a meal from them.
Chicken and Ramsons Omelette with Scarlet Elfcups, Rocket Salad and Japanese Knotweed Spears
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Scarlet Elfcups are easy to spot you'll find them growing in clusters on dead and decaying branches on the forest floor. They can be a pain to clean and I usually use a little water and a scrubbing pad then allow them to dry on kitchen paper. I always keep the prettiest ones whole and serve them raw to make the most of their mild mushroomy flavour, though damaged ones can be chopped and added to the omelette. If you collect to many they dry very wall and can be stored dried of can be powdered to add to my mushroom powder.
The image, left shows the final supper of a chicken and ramsons omelette served with Japanese knotweed spears and scarlet elfcup mushrooms
Ingredients:
6 stout Japanese knotweed stems about 4-6 cm long, cleaned in a bowl of water
generous handful of scarlet elfcup mushrooms, thoroughly washed
1/2 onion, finely diced
small bunch of ramson leaves, washed and finely shredded
3 eggs, beaten in a bowl
salt and freshly-ground black pepper, to taste
freshly-ground black pepper and smoked paprika, for the knotweed stems
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp oil
rocket and wild leaf salad, to accompany
Method:
Pre-heat your oven to 200C and put in your baking tray to warm up.
Take the soaked Japanese knotweed stems and pat dry with a clean tea towel. Toss with the soy sauce then toss with oil before sprinkling with the black pepper and paprika to coat on all sides. Arrange the spears on the hot baking tray then place in your pre-heated oven. Roast for 10 minutes then turn them over with tongs and continue cooking for 10 minutes more.
Place a non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Add the onion and fry for a few minutes until softened. Add in the chicken and fry until warmed through. Season with salt and black pepper then pour over the eggs.
Beat the eggs with a fork until beginning to set then continue cooking until they're set on top. When almost ready sprinkle over the shredded bear garlic leaves.
This recipe is unique to this blog, however if you want more information about the invasive plant, Japanese knotweed and links to more Japanese knotweed recipes see the FabulousFusionFood Japanese knotweed page.
For the early mushroom Scarlet Elfcup, see the FabulousFusionFood Scarlet Elfcup information and recipe links page.
For ramsons/bear garlic see the FabulousFusionFood Ramsons/Bear Garlic information and recipe links page.
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