Earlier this week with little time to make dinner this was the unlikely result: St. George’s, ramsons and red-leaved dandelion leftover pasta with Hosta icicles in Japanese dip. Earlier in the day I had noticed a patch of St George’s Mushroom / vårfagerhatt (Calocybe gambosa) in the same spot it had turned up for the first time 3 years ago (see St. George’s Mushroom). They were then stir-fried with ramsons (ramsløk) and red-leaved dandelion (Taraxacum rubifolium) and some left-over wholewheat spelt pasta and were served with fried egg on home made garlic toast with a few prawns and some blanched Hosta “Big Daddy” shoots (Hosta icicles) as a side salad with an olive oil /soy sauce dip and the last bottle of St. Peter’s organic pale ale. LIFE IS GOOD!
The best of spring in one sitting. In celebration of the country Norway, we yesterday (17th May) harvested a small selection of the best blanched perennial vegetables (apart from the ostrich fern which had to be harvested or it would have been too late). This included three udo species (Aralia cordata, Aralia californica and Aralia racemosa), sea kale (Crambe maritima), Hosta “Big Daddy” together with delicious sweet blanched ramsons (Allium ursinum) . They were all eaten raw (apart from the fern which was steamed for 10 minutes) with a Japanese dipping sauce – olive oil (should have been sesame), tamari (soy sauce) and roasted sesame seeds. These accompanied an onion soup prepared with half of the leaves from one plant of Wietses Onion, a vigorous hybrid of Allium pskemense and Allium fistulosum! It doesn’t get much better than this! More information with the pictures:
Blanched Aralia cordata, Japanese udo (I used a large builders bucket)
I found a friendly beetle hiding on the stem
The green unblanched udo was only 1/3 of the size due to the sheltering / heating effect of the black bucket
Aralia racemosa (American spikenard)
Californian udo. also known as Elk clover (Aralia californica)
Californian udo. also known as Elk clover (Aralia californica)
Californian udo. also known as Elk clover (Aralia californica)
I harvested two early Hosta “Big Daddy” shoots which were growing under a blanching bucket in a sea of blanced ramsons /ramsløk (Allium ursinum)
Blanched Hosta “Big Daddy” shoots after harvesting the ramsons (ramsløk)
From left to right: California udo, Japanese udo, American spikenard, Hosta “Big Daddy” and blanched ramsons /ramsløk
Hosta “Big Daddy” (above) with American spikenardith
Blanched ramsons (ramsløk) were sweeter tasting
Japanese udo and Hosta “Big Daddy”
Wietse’s onion (Allium pskemense x fistulosum)
Wietse’s onion (Allium pskemense x fistulosum) after harvesting half of the shoots (I want it to flower as it is also one of the best popular plants for several bumble bee species and other pollinating insects)
Wietse’s onion (Allium pskemense x fistulosum) – main ingredient for the soup
Wietse’s onion soup
17th May dinner (in the middle at the top are the blanched sea kale – Crambe maritima – and cooked ostrich fern at the bottom)
17th May dinner!
Perennial vegetables, Edimentals (plants that are edible and ornamental) and other goings on in The Edible Garden
