Fiddlehead Ferns

Fiddleheads pair well with delicate and briny flavors of the sea in this Mussel and Fiddlehead Chowder

And below in Roasted Trout with Pancetta, Asparagus, and Ramps

Radishes

Mostly I end up just munching on these beauties straight up, but I also eat generous quantities on top of bread slathered with butter.  Also great quick sautéed with anchovies, butter and herbs. Quick radish kimchi has also been a favorite preparation that really shows off the different textures and colors. At Print we throw them into ceviche, atop braised short ribs, and alongside our pork chop for added texture.

Asparagus

The hallmark of spring verdancy is honored in this preparation from Ferran Adria’s Family Meals Cookbook. The stalks are lightly sautéed in olive oil, topped with an olive oil fried egg and garnished with fiddleheads and fava greens, also gorgeous pictured below.

Fava Greens with black and white buds are a nutty flavored tender green that was divine thrown into array of dishes, from Pasta Primavera to Blanquette de Veau.  On the print menu with Goat Cheese Gnocchi and alongside Seared Red Snapper

Lettuce

Thriving in the cool temperatures and rainy days, lettuces are abundant in variety this time of year.  The speckled trout and lola rossa varieties that my Grandma used to grow and harvest from her own garden, make for a family favorite, that we call simply, Wilted Salad.  Chopped bacon is crisped in a skillet, then removed. Add to the hot leftover drippings a little sugar, vinegar, salt and pepper and pour over mixed lettuces with sliced spring onions and the bacon.  Crunchy, salty, fatty : it is easy to eat this stuff by the copious bowlfuls.

Rhubarb

Don’t just just reserve these stalks for compote and crisps, they also make great additions in savory applications. At Print we put them atop oysters in a tangy mignonette and to give a tart kick to the sauce on our seared duck breast.  Throw diced stalks into braised or sautéed  greens to add an herbaceous acidity. Lastly, experiment with rhubarb puree or juice in cocktails or sodas. We serve a rhubarb lemonade soda at Print that is a sprightly spring tonic topped with tarragon.

Strawberries

First of the season just pop em in your mouth!

Later we can talk daiquiris, shortcakes, pies ,etc.

Memorial day is around the corner.  For those of you with the presence of mind to not board a Jitney to the Hamptons, consider joining us at PRINT. Restaurant or the Press Lounge.

PRINT. will be open on Memorial day for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Our seasonally inspired forager-sourced menu and close proximity to the Intrepid museum make for fantastic Memorial day weekend plans.   The Press lounge will also be open all weekend starting at 5:00pm. Come experience our unprecedented views of both Manhattan and the fleet week armada.

Make reservations at PRINT. this Memorial Day:

Breakfast:   7 am to 11:30 am
Lunch:        11:30 am to 3 pm
Dinner:       5:30 pm to 10 pm

Reservations can be made through OpenTable or by calling 212-757-2224.

This photo was taken at Mountain Sweet Berry Farm’s stand last week, the ramps here are in a perfect in between size, with medium bulbs great for sautéing and roasting and still tender leaves for blanching or quick sautéing .

Even though ramps have become a popular wild seasonal vegetable over the last few years I will give this definition from the website of one of our ramp suppliers, Delaware Valley Ramps , for those who are still unfamiliar :

Allium tricoccum, commonly known as ramps, spring onion, ramson, wild leek, or ail des bois (French), is a member of the onion family (Alliaceae). Found in groups with broad, smooth, light green leaves, often with deep purple or burgundy tints on the lower stems and a scallion-like bulb strongly rooted just beneath the surface of the soil. Both the white lower leaf stalks and the broad green leaves are edible. They are found from the U.S. state of South Carolina to Canada and are especially popular in the cuisine of the US state of West Virginia and the Canadian province of Quebec when they emerge in the springtime. A common description of the flavor is like a combination of onions and strong garlic.

These days I find myself especially enthralled with some of the ramp recipes hailing from Appalachia, many of which involve a combination of such staple foods as bacon, bacon grease, potatoes, scrambled eggs, cornbread, and beans.  I assume if you served ramps with all of these ingredients at once you would have a real ramp party or at the very least a solid early spring feast.

I have however been chipping away at some of these combos.   Starting with a dandelion greens salad I like to make with warm bacon dressing.  I fried up the bacon til crispy , removed it, added the chopped ramp bulbs, some sherry vinegar , a bit of honey then threw in the ramp tops and then tossed it onto the dandelion greens and roasted potatoes and topped the entire thing with a soft boiled egg.

I copied this mash up in a roast trout dish last night with a similar roster of ingredients with the addition of asparagus and fiddle head ferns.

However, some of the best methods to let ramps and their funky flavor shine, are of course the simplest.  As I discovered at a BBQ , grilled quickly the ramps are tender and yet pungent, perfect to accompany any grilled meat or dipped in romanesco.  A potluck dinner had me try Melissa Clarks recipe for Ramp Foccacia (to which I added artichokes).  If you don’t have time for making, kneading, and rising dough, buy some from your local pizza shop and make a ramp pizza, as a red pie or bianco it is a crowd pleaser.

Alas, because the ramp season is fleeting, to keep their funky flavor lingering try pickling or fermenting them.  I am going to attempt a ramp kimchi batch next week and if it turns outs well I will post a photo and a recipe,  (basically you follow a kimchi recipe for spring onions or radishes and just substitute the ramps).  But for now, here is a pickled ramp recipe we like to use here in the Print kitchen which we use as a pungent addition to our charcuterie platter and as a season garnish on our Bloody Marys.

Lastly, if you are a real ramp fanatic make your way to an entire festival dedicated to the wild leek taking place this weekend :http://www.rampfesthudson.com/

PICKLED RAMPS

(feel free to change up the spices and throw in some herbs or lemon zest)

Ingredients:

1 cup white wine vinegar

1 cup sugar

1 cup water

1 teaspoon mustard seed

1 teaspoon coriander seed

1 teaspoon fennel seed

1 teaspoon red peppercorns

1 teaspoon white peppercorns

1 bay leaf

2 pounds ramps, cleaned and trimmed

Kosher salt for blanching

1 tablespoon salt for the pickling liquid

1:  Trim the ends off of the ramps and cut down the leaves leaving about 1/4 inch of green, saving the green ends for another purpose. Wash the ramps under cool, running water.

2:  Blanch the ramps quickly (30 seconds) by dropping them in a large pot of salted, boiling water, and then shock them in ice water. Drain the ramps well and place them in a mason jar.

3:  Combine the vinegar, salt, sugar, and water in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Add the bay leaf, mustard seeds, coriander, pink and white peppercorns, and fennel seeds.

4:  Pour the hot vinegar mixture over the ramps in the mason jar and let cool, sealing tight and transferring to the refrigerator. They will keep 12-14 days.

The book,  Foraged Flavor, by Tama Matsuoka Wong with Eddy Leroux (Chef at Daniel) is what initially inspired me to begin foraging for early spring greens.   A few weeks ago I began scanning  the park’s ditches and woodlands for easily recognizable garlic mustard, dandelion, and garlic chives, and put them into a bread salad under neath a roast chicken.  Suddenly, landscapes contained so many new possibilities, and endless edible oddities, and were transformed into palettes of transient flavors.  However, I was still not able to recognize a vast majority of them, and decided to try a more hands on learning approach, and  signed up for a foraging class with Wildman Steve Brill, a naturalist who has been giving foraging tours throughout the regions parklands since 1982.  

As you may be able to tell from the photo here, he is enthusiastic, entertaining, and truly immersed in what he does.  Alongside leading the tours, he makes botanical paintings of various wild edibles in there various stages.  Also he tests out the foraged foods in a myriad of vegan recipes.

What he is holding in both his hands and mouth are stalks of Japanese Knotweed, a wild edible that we actually collected on our tour.  It is an invasive plant brought from Asia that has a tart flavor similar to rhubarb.  It can be peeled and then cooked in the same ways and turn into a tangy compote, crumble, ice cream etc.

I made a compote with it last night with lemon and ginger, I was surprised after the  first taste, how similar it was to rhubarb in texture and sourness but the lingering flavor was much more herbal and floral and unique .  It is these unique flavors that are the draw for me with foraging , some times astringent, sour , bitter, herbaceous, foraged foods hold an entire range of flavors that cannot be found on supermarket shelves.  It is no wonder that Chefs are beginning to seek these new flavors out to add new dimension to their dishes and ultimately the diner’s palates.

Here is a photo / sampling of what we found along the tour.  I will list what each item is and its flavor, clockwise beginning with the bamboo looking shoot (the knotweed).  Please do not use this as a field guide, download Steve Brills App or purchase book with detailed images and descriptions.

1) Knotweed : use the stalk as you would rhubarb , has a tart herbal flavor

2) Bitterdock : the leaves once steamed or stewed take on a lemony flavor, very easy to find and were in large numbers throughout Forest Park.

3) Chickweed :  also very common , has a grassy flavor

4) Wild Garlic Chives: these literally all over the place right now, when you pick them they have a onion garlicky scent and flavor

5) Burdock Root: This must be dug up but has similar looking leaf formation to the bitter dock and once peeled can be used in soups like a root vegetable or shaved and blanched to make a japanese sesame salad , and has an artichoke nutty flavor

6) Day Lily Shoots:  We are at the end of the season here, but the young shoots can be used whole, grilled or sautéed you can use like young leeks, but the flavor is much sweeter and more subtle.

7) Sweet Sicily:  The root of this plant has a very strong licorice flavor and can be used to make a tea which like anise , soothes the stomach .

8) Garlic Mustard:  Also a very prevalent wild green right now and easy to identify, it has an earthy garlic bitter flavor and the buds have a nice mustardy spicy kick (later the seeds from the buds can be gathered and used like mustard seeds).  Great to use in many recipes as an herb or green.  I used it in a toasted bread salad underneath a roast chicken and also threw some into a risotto.

9) False Solomon’s Seal: The tender shoots of this plant have a brief season, so we were lucky to have the right timing to taste their delicate asparagus like flavor.  I blanched them and put them on crostini’s with favas, mint, and chives.

10) Lilacs : Sorry , forgot to include them in this group photo but below you can seem them floating as a garnish for an aperitif I made that I am calling the Lillet Lilac Spritzer.

Lillet Lilac Spritzer

2 parts Lillet

1 part seltzer

1 slice or zest of lemon

stirred on ice and topped with an edible flower (dandelion, pansy, cherry blossom)

Here are a few more images of dishes I prepared with these wild edibles along with some easy recipes and ideas for how to incorporate them into various dishes.

Ricotta , Fava, and False Solomon Seal Crostini

Fresh rustic bread sliced (if day old toast with olive oil)

Ricotta cheese to spread on each, sprinkled with salt and pepper

Topped with blanched fava beans, and sliced False Solomon Seal shoots.

Garnish with drizzle of olive oil and whatever spring herbs and greens you have(dill, tarragon, chives, ramps, mint, pea shoots, arugula, sorrel)

I also served a raw artichoke salad with this and thew some chickweed in. Then I made a classic risotto , with spring onions and threw in the bitter dock and garlic mustard in the last 10 minutes of cooking.  The result was a delicately herbal creamy risotto.

The next night I attempted some Japanese flavors with the greens.  I blanched the bitter dock, chickweed, and some tat soi and drizzled it with sesame oil, tamari, lemon juice and sesame seeds.

Alongside a Japanese style omelette with smoked mackerel and rice the greens made for an interesting herbal palate cleanser.  The other recipe I made from the Foraged and Found book, was grilled day lilies with miso dressing, here is a link to the original recipe:

http://goo.gl/LxSdM

I did not have tofu so I substituted blanched carrots and blanched burdock root.  It was really delicious with the tender day lily shoots and the creamy funky miso dressing.

Lastly, with the Japanese Knotweed , I made a compote with ginger, lemon peel, and turbinado sugar.  Albeit it was labor intensive to peel each stalk, the finished flavor was remarkable, at first just tart and sweet like rhubarb compote, but later a floral and herbal flavor followed that was divine.  I have been putting it on top of kefir, cardamom cake, and ricotta toasts through out the week which has helped assuage my rhubarb cravings that have not been met by the belated spring harvests.

However, these foraged edibles are not simply replacements for farmers market  produce, they are as I mentioned, uniquely flavored plants. Moreover it is the practice of finding them in our natural surroundings, at a particular time of year, that turns them into personal delicacies that take the meaning of seasonal and local eating to another level.

I hope to do some more foraging upstate in the next few weeks, and I plan to take another of Steve Brill’s classes in the summer when wild berries are ripe for the picking.  If this foraging stuff interests you please look into taking one of his classes, they are held each weekend around the city and region and are affordable , accessible, and fun.  In the end, foraging for edibles is an incredible way to shift your view of the landscape, to excite your palate, and ultimately in tune the body to the cycles of nature.

http://www.wildmanstevebrill.com/ 

PRINT. Restaurant and the PRESS Lounge will be open for Mother’s Day. Surprise your mother with brunch or enjoy our full a la carte lunch and dinner menus.

An early dinner at PRINT. pairs wonderfully with one of Broadway’s fantastic musicals or plays located a few blocks away.

Our in-house forager, Meghan Boledovich, is working closely with Chef Charles Rodriguez and Pastry Chef Geoff Koo to bring you our seasonally inspired, a la carte menu with ingredients sourced from the region to celebrate Mother’s day at Print. Notable dishes added to our a la carte menu for Mother’s day will include:

• Maine lobster frittata with local asparagus, hen of the woods mushrooms, and spring onions.
• Seared halibut with spring pea puree, favas, black trumpets, sorrel, and citrus sauce.
• Mixed grilled lamb with potato rösti, sauteed kale rabe, and chimichurri sauce

PRINT. Restaurant will be open for breakfast from 7:00 AM to 10:45 AM, for brunch from 11:30AM to 3:00PM, and for dinner from 5:30PM to 9:45PM.

To make a reservation at PRINT., call 212-757-2224 or email reservations@printrestaurant.com

This same intense fragrant sweet flavor inflected the collard greens that survived the winter on Print’s rooftop.

On the flip side, I am also amazed by the array of early spring new growth greens that act as  trail blazers, the jump starters , paving the way for more common spring greens and herbs .  Namely chickweed and chervil.  Chickweed is an invasive weed that is one of the first wild edibles to appear when not much else is green.  Raw it has a grassy herbaceous flavor but cooked it takes on a more unctuous spinach taste.  We are serving it raw with our roasted beet and crab salad and also have made it into an early spring pesto for our herb crusted fluke.

Aside from the succulent collard leaves we were surprised to find young baby chervil growing in two patches on the roof that had re-seeded itself from last years plants. For such a delicate leafed herb it is impressive to see it surviving the cold temps and heavy rains.  Its light anise and parsley flavor adds a freshness when topped on any spring fare from salads to poached eggs with asparagus.

Throughout this  week of discovery at the market and on the rooftop , I had gathered a large assortment of greens, ranging from radish and baby carrot tops to those wintered and wild greens mentioned.  As they mounted in my crisper drawer I scrambled to find a recipe which could utilize the entire random assortment.  Food and Wine’s new issue, offered a solution with its recipe for Gumbo Z’herbs.  This is traditionally a meat free gumbo eaten during Lent in New Orleans.  I remember while visiting Dooky Chase, Leah , the long standing Chef extradonaire  (I believe she is now nearing 90 and is still in the kitchen) , told us about her gumbo Z’herbs which is  sought after by customers , long after Lent has passed.

Here is the line up of greens I used: Savoy Cabbage, Swiss Chard, Chickweed, Mizuna, Collards, Broccoli Rabe, Lettuce, Radish Tops, and Sorrel.

Here is the Food and Wine recipe.  http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/gumbo-zherbes

Feel free , as I did, to simply use whatever greens you have on hand and omit the pork shoulder for a less meaty , Lent bent gumbo.  I also used an immersion blender in the pot to blend the greens slightly instead of transferring to a blender.  Lastly, I used marjoram instead of thyme and spring onions and spring garlic which gave the soup a slightly brighter Spring flavor.  In the end, it made a delicious gumbo perfect for the early cool spring temperatures and a variety of early sturdy spring greens.

P.S.   Leftovers fare well on grits topped with a poached egg

I attended a panel on local organic vs local conventional farms, which highlighted the differences in farming techniques and strategies  mostly concerning pest and weed management. The organic farmers insights, gave a true depiction why organic produce comes at a higher cost.  It is not only because of the organic USDA certification fees, but more from the added labor and time needed to manage pests and weeds without sprays and chemicals, and furthermore it is these toxic sprays and chemicals used by many conventional farms that can have added hidden costs down the line for the environment and public health.

The other panel I attended gave an overview of distribution channels for smaller farms and artisanal food producers.  The main take away : strong relationships formed through communication between farmer and distributor – distributor and buyer help to create transparency and trust among all parties involved.

However, the panel I found most inspiring was titled : BRINGING THE TABLE TO EVERYONE: HOW AN URBAN FARM AND MOBILE MARKET TEAMED UP TO INCREASE FOOD ACCESS IN THE DC/MD/VA REGION   (URBAN AGRICULTURE)       Common Good City Farm is an urban farm dedicated to growing food with and for low-income community members. Arcadia operates a Mobile Market, selling fresh foods in “food deserts” around DC/MD/VA. In 2012, Common Good and Arcadia joined forces to increase food access and nutrition education.

I found the panel so powerful because it more or less offers an inventive solution to the problem of  availability of healthy fresh food in so called food deserts (areas where there is little or no access to affordable and fresh fruits and vegetables).

It relates closely to the problems outlined in the new documentary from the producers of Food , Inc. called A Place at the TableThe producers of Food, Inc.  which presents the harsh reality of hunger and food insecurity as it exists amongst 40 million Americans.

Some of the most shocking footage comes from small towns in Mississippi (which is the state with the nations highest rate of obesity) where residents have to drive 40 miles to the nearest supermarket with fresh fruits and vegetables, because all that is accessible in their local communities are corner stores with processed, shelf stable , cheap foods.  Not only will the grocery stores not open new locations in these lower income communities but even the trucks that distribute the fresh foods will not go off their routes on main highways to drop product off at the Mom and Pop corner stores on the back roads.  The problem is, how to get fresh food to these areas when the reality is unlikely that distributors and trucks will change their routes (add costs, time, and loose money).

The only immediate solution it seems, has to be grassroots, has to be local, and has to be specific to each community.  This means community run gardens or small farms that grow what the community needs and furthermore  forms a community run distribution system that is also site specific.  In D.C. it meant a baseball field turned into a 1.5 acre farm, that this year will grow more okra and development more youth programming which then had an added outlet for its produce through a Mobile Market, which sells local produce at reduced rates at various public housing sites. In Mississippi, it could be a Mom and Pop store with a big empty lot next to it, and a retired resident with a truck. The point is , if the commercial systems and corporations are not going to solve the problems of food deserts/obesity and general public health issues, the public is going to have to step up and format their own healthy food system in the meantime.

As the film states, the issue of hunger seems solvable and tangible, yet the issue of poverty seems vast and unmanageable .  So let’s look at hunger then as a concrete issue to confront in order to reduce poverty.  However, hunger by definition, is complicated in America, many people who are considered “hungry” (don’t know where their next meal is coming from) are also obese.  A paradox that comes down to the issue of cheap processed foods being overall more affordable and accessible than fresh wholesome foods.  This is the problem that the Just Food conference is addressing, that garden to cafeteria programs are confronting in schools across the nation, that communities are defying by growing their own produce in old baseball fields, vacant lots, and rooftops.  Thus the urban or rural community garden represents more than just the taste of a fresher tomato, they represent a space which residents are pulling themselves up by their boot straps , and creating a DIY solution for bettering community health,  amidst a national government run and corporation sponsored food system that declines to do so.

If you are interested in any of these issues and care about the future of our nation’s health, please go see the film, A Place at the Table and please sign this petition:

http://nyccah.org/keepyourpromisetoourkids

Print restaurant  participates in the food justice movement on a local level by supporting the farms in our region and by volunteering with organizations such as Wellness in the Schools and the Sylvia Center , which promote healthy eating and cooking throughout NYC schools and community centers through hands on , sensory learning.  

Green shallots are in fact young shallots that are very hearty and can sprout up even when the ground temperature is low.  They have a mild flavor and can be used in place of green onions, or if you are longing for ramps, they can also make a good substitute.  Since the season for ramps is a short one the Print kitchen preserves the wild bounty by pickling.  I wanted to try the same approach to the green shallots and green garlic.  So I used a pickled ramp recipe from Saveur : http://www.saveur.com/article/Recipes/Pickled-Ramps

The major change that I made was by using maple sap (watery maple water collected from the trees that is then reduced into the syrup) in place of water and reduced some of the sugar.  After one day of pickling I was surprised to find that the garlic especially had turned various pastel shades of color, almost the same shades as Easter eggs.

Garlic has a tendency to change color with acidity, but I assume this range of colors  came from the pink peppercorns and juniper berries in the brine.  I decided the festive colors would be perfect to top the deviled eggs that I am making this week for an early Easter themed family meal.  The kitchen contributed Habichuelas Con Dulce (Sweet Cream of Beans), which is a traditional dessert from the Dominican Republic, that is often made in large batches around Lent and shared with friends and family.

From what I heard around the kitchen , it seems that every family has their own recipe and way of spicing the habicheulas con dulce, and of course their own mother’s or grandmothers’s always the favorite that all other versions will be harshly compared to.  This was my first time trying the dish, and I found that I could not take in enough spoonfuls.  The pureed kidney beans are cooked down with evaporated milk and coconut milk so that it thickens and then sweet potatoes and raisins and spices (cinnamon, cloves, vanilla) are added .  It is the kind of belly and soul filling dish that you could eat  everyday.

Here is a link to a recipe and more information about the dish:

http://www.dominicancooking.com/979-habichuelas-con-dulce-sweet-creamed-beans.html

Here is a photo of my deviled eggs with those pastel pickled garlic stems, smoked eel, and chervil .  Happy Holidays and Happy Feasting!

Join us at PRINT for a memorable Easter Sunday breakfast, brunch, or dinner.

We will be open for breakfast from 7:00 AM to 10:45 AM, for brunch from 11:30AM to 3:00PM, and for dinner from 5:30PM to 9:45PM.

Our in-house forager, Meghan Boledovich, is working closely with Chef Charles Rodriguezand Pastry Chef Geoff Koo to bring you a special, seasonally sourced, a la carte menuto celebrate your Easter Sunday at Print.

To make a reservation at PRINT., call 212-757-2224 or emailreservations@printrestaurant.com

This week I tied on an apron and threw on a hair net and attempted for the first time, to create a dish for family meal.  Albeit a terrifying process to navigate all the walk ins for the ingredients and locate each kitchen tool, the results were edible…… and maybe even enjoyable.  The dish , a Canlis Salad, is a recipe from the famed Seattle restaurant which goes by the same name,  has been a fixture on the menu for 60 years.  It was featured in the NY Times Magazine last week, and when I saw the simple ingredients, bright flavors, and bacon croutons, I knew this could be a safe option, and a hearty salad that could please taste buds across the board.

In my scramble to get the completed salad ready in time, I did not capture a photo but there is a lovelier one attached to the article, along with recipe which I more or less  quadrupled: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/03/magazine/smells-like-green-spirit.html?_r=0

Other ideas for future family meal dishes :  Moroccan Spiced Roasted Carrot Salad, Kimchi Fried Rice, Grits and Greens, Dal, and Tostadas.  I also want to try a weekly seasonal kimchi or pickle.  The recipes that resonate as staff favorites  will get posted here, so that they can be shared in future family meals to quickly, economically, and deliciously fill many hungry bellies, be it at work or at play.