wild foods

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Rustic Wild Mushroom Tart, made with Chanterelle Mushrooms
Breads & Baked Goods Mushrooms Sauces & Condiments Wild Foods

Rustic Wild Mushroom Tart with Chanterelle Mushrooms

The deep intense flavor of wild mushrooms is something that cultivated mushrooms just don’t have. I’m talking about real wild mushrooms, not the kind typically found in grocery stores and on too many restaurant menus. Wild mushrooms grow in the wild. They grow in forests, on mountainsides, in meadows and in deep brush. They grow whenever and wherever their nature tells them to grow, and their marvelous earthy flavors are a sure sign that they are NOT the safe little …

Farro, Wild Mushroom and Chestnut Salad with Sherry Vinaigrette
Appetizers Mushrooms Salads Wild Foods

Farro, Wild Mushroom and Chestnut Salad with Sherry Vinaigrette

Farro, an ancient relative of modern wheat, was once called “pharaoh’s wheat,” since it’s been around since the pyramids were still under warranty. It’s kept its appeal across much of the world through the intervening centuries, especially in Italy and the Middle East, but it’s only caught on in North America relatively recently. Once considered rather exotic, delicious farro now pops up regularly on restaurant menus and can usually be found in well-provisioned grocery stores. Farro’s wholesome grain-like flavor makes …

Double Mushroom and Cheese Strata
Breads & Baked Goods Cheese Eggs Any Style Mushrooms Wild Foods

Twice-the-Flavor Savory Double Mushroom and Cheese Strata

What’s a “strata?” Think savory bread pudding, only better. It’s an easy make-ahead meal that can be prepared the night before and baked just before you’re ready to serve it. While Double Mushroom & Cheese Strata is the perfect centerpiece for a lazy weekend brunch, it’s substantial and satisfying enough for a weeknight dinner too. Featuring savory cheeses, eggs and both fresh and dried mushrooms, this is rib-sticking comfort food at its finest – and a guaranteed hit with the …

Fresh Chanterelle Mushrooms
All Recipes Appetizers Breads & Baked Goods Cheese Mushrooms Sauces & Condiments

Chanterelle Confit

Confit: Anyone who has the vaguest interest in food and cooking has probably heard this word used (and misused) more than a few times. Many people, even experienced cooks, may be a little hazy about the meaning of the term.  Is it a dish or a cooking method?  Is it French or, heaven forbid, “fancy?”  Does it make you feel uncomfortable and ignorant when your food snob friends use it casually in conversation? Let’s see if we can clear up …

Cod a l’Anglaise with Ramp Butter
Sauces & Condiments Seafood Wild Foods

Crisp Cod a l’Anglaise with Ramp Butter

“À l’anglaise” is just a fancy way of saying “English-style” in French. It really has little to do with actual English cooking but refers to the way that the French imagine English cooking to be – in other words, plain and boring. The term à l’anglaise is used without much consistency. In general, it means food that is prepared very simply and presented with no sauce more complex than melted butter. Sometimes it means boiled; other times, it means turned …

Tall, flaky biscuits, fresh from the oven
Breads & Baked Goods Wild Foods

Buttermilk Ramp Biscuits

Nothing says “Country Breakfast” like fresh, hot buttermilk biscuits. There’s really nothing hard about making biscuits. With a little bit of practice, you can whip up a batch in 15 minutes or less (plus baking time, of course). The secret to making great, flaky biscuits lies in a few basic principles. Chill all of your ingredients before you start Cut in the fat with a pastry cutter Add just enough liquid to hold the dry ingredients together Use liquid with …

Spaghetti with Ramp Butter and Morel Mushrooms
Mushrooms Pasta Wild Foods

Spaghetti with Ramp Butter and Morel Mushrooms

Many of our favorite wild foods seem to appear all at once in the early spring, which can make it hard to appreciate each one adequately. A practical way to enjoy the season’s abundance is to combine several of them together into a single dish. Another is to preserve the fresh flavors of the spring wild harvest so they can be enjoyed all year round. This dish does both. The flavor and texture of the morel is well known, and these unique, …

Ramp Biscuits with Ramp and Jowl Bacon Gravy from Above
Breads & Baked Goods Meat Sauces & Condiments Wild Foods

Country Comfort: Ramp & Jowl Bacon Gravy

It’s not surprising that most classic recipes are built on the solid foundation of good old-fashioned country cooking. Ramp and Jowl Bacon Gravy is insanely good over hot, homemade biscuits (check our recipe for Ramp Buttermilk Biscuits), but would be equally at home gracing a roasted veal chop in a fancy white-tablecloth restaurant. No wonder that down-home ingredients like ramps have found their way onto the menus of so many upscale dining establishments! A spoonful or two of this rich, …

Ramps laying on a green platter
Sauces & Condiments Vegetables Wild Foods

Ramps: America’s Love Affair with the Smelly (But Addictively Delicious) Wild Leek

Over the years, many North Americans have come to know and love the lowly wild member of the onion family known as the “ramp” (Allium tricoccum). Why? Ramps possess an unmistakable flavor and powerful aroma that immediately announces their membership in the widespread onion family (Alliaceae), but which is, at the same time, absolutely unique. Ramps, or wild leeks, as they are commonly known in the northern part of their range, have earned their place in the lore of the …

Wild Mushroom and Fava Crostini
Appetizers Mushrooms Wild Foods

Wild Mushroom & Fava Bean Crostini

Wild mushrooms and fava beans are the perfect combination of forest and field, robustly earthy and delicately sweet at the same time. This dish offers some of the best that the late summer harvest has to offer, flavors so good and so satisfying that it’s worth a little extra effort. These elegant crostini are equally well-suited to a casual dinner party, a light lunch or a healthy between-meal snack. While there are several steps involved in making them, they’re not difficult to prepare, and to make …