A perennial leek that grows like a weed? And is delicious? Yes! Come into my post and get to know the elephant garlic. And then enjoy a wonderful plate of grilled elephant garlic stalks, with wild carrots and dandelion roots, too.
Rooting Around For Roots
Elephant garlic is a variant of the leek. But it's perennial and can spread like a weed! Most people that grow elephant garlic only harvest the big bulbs that split into cloves like garlic. But there are so many different ways to use almost every part of elephant garlic!
In the spring, the young elephant garlic stalks make great Spring Leeks. Here in Oregon's Willamette Valley, it's still a little early to harvest them for leeks. But the Steemit Iron Chef special ingredient this week is leeks, so I'm headed out to dig up a clump. There are plenty out there!
While I'm wandering with my shovel, I may as well dig up some other roots, too. Wild carrots are so good when they are cooked until they are tender. And this is a great time to get their roots - before the plants really start growing in the spring. And I'll dig a few dandelion roots, too. They have a parsnip flavor when they are cooked -- and leeks and parsnips go great together!
Here's a tip: Do not clean those roots in the kitchen! You will get in trouble, even if you live alone. Instead, let the roots soak in a bucket of water for an hour. Then the soil swishes right off, leaving all that mud in the bucket.
In the Kitchen
There's a little preparation in the kitchen, but not too much. The big bulbs around the elephant garlic are from last year, so they are beginning to get a little pithy now. But their inner core is new growth, like the familiar leek. I'll show you what I do with the bulbs - and the leaves - in future posts. But for now, I'm interested in the leek-like stalk.
I lightly peel the carrot and dandelion roots - and then steam them until they are tender. Then I grill all 3 on a cast iron grill pan with a little olive oil. It doesn't take long. I also make a reduction from my Spruce Tree Balsamic Vinegar that I have written about before.
Serving It Up!
I stack my grilled elephant garlic leeks, wild carrots, and dandelion roots. I top them with a chiffonade of dandelion leaves and flowers from wild field mustard. And then I drizzle on my Spruce Tree Balsamic Vinegar reduction, with the soft spruce needles included. It's a springtime party!
What Do You Think?
- Do you grow or forage Elephant Garlic?
- Do you forage Dandelion roots or Wild Carrots?
- Do you forage for any wild food?
- What's your favorite root to eat?
- Would you eat my Wild Spring Grill Carnival?
I eat a lot of wild plants and show you how, because I believe that we can all have lives that are richer, more secure, more grounded, and more interesting by getting to know the plants and the land around us – in our yards, our parks, and our wild places.
Thanks @progressivechef for creating the Steemit Iron Chef contest series!
I try to make content that's interesting! If you found this informative and helpful, please give it an upvote and a resteem.
Plant List
- Elephant Garlic Allium ampeloprasum var. ampeloprasum
- Dandelion Taraxacum officinale
- Wild Field Mustard Brassica rapa
- Wild Carrot Daucus carota
- Spruce Picea spp.
- Poison Hemlock - Conium maculatum - DO NOT EAT!
This is so amazing! I urgently want my own garden where I can dig out any root I want! I remember my grandmother trying to get rid off the dandelion plants (there must have been thousands around the house and everywhere on the farm) by digging them out ... it was like tilting windmills! If she would have known that shu could simply eat them up, there wouldn't have been a lot left over! 😆
Oh! What I actually wanted to say was: congratulations on your well deserved first prize @haphazard-hstead! It's more than deserved!
Thanks, @pusteblume! It was a real surprise!
A wonderful surprise! 😃
haha -- eating the weeds is a good gardening strategy! It seems wrong to hope that you have a lot of weeds in your future garden, but if they are good eating weeds, then it's OK. ; )
😜
looks absolutely delicious! I just got some elephant garlic at the store and was going to plant it! :) I'll let you know how it goes! I have gotten my friends very excited about the nuts you gave me at the Portland meetup! I'm going to try to skewer them with some salt and garlic tomorrow.
Thanks, @nickh725! Elephant garlic is a great plant to get started somewhere nearby. It likes the Pacific Northwest climate. I wonder how your ginkgo grilling turned out!
I really do envy you. ..you live so close to nature...as much free from the contaminants as possible
You have access to healthy organic food...that is great...
Do tell me how did you recognise all those wild vegetables, did you had botany as a major????
I try to learn some new plants every year. I have had botany classes, but not as a major. Maybe that's an interesting topic -- about how to learn plants with confidence. It's a lifelong process -- and there's more to know than anyone can learn in a lifetime. I think a good place to start is to learn the trees nearby. Because they will be there year after year. I hope you can enjoy some nature around you, too, @xabi!
So its a life long practice. ..hmm
Yes. When I think about how much free, fresh, delicious wild food I have eaten over my life, it's pretty amazing.
I also tell you that Dandelion has multiple properties for health, it could also have a powerful anticancer affection that could be up to 100 times more powerful than chemotherapy. The tea of the dandelion roots acts on the cancer cells in such a way that some can disintegrate up to a time of 48 hours.
Scientists who have researched the plant have discovered that the root can work better than chemotherapy when it comes to treating cancer, since it kills only cancer cells, preventing the damage of healthy cells as chemotherapy usually does.
I know of people who have been using the roots as you do to get the cancer and it has worked for them, besides it has more benefits for the benefit of the human body.
When they begin to grow in my garden the dandelion, I strengthen them with magnesium water and I eat the leaves from the flowers and even the roots that make it, now I will use the roots as you do.
I love your post I learn a lot thanks
Have a nice night @haphazard-hstead
Dandelions are great plants, that's for sure. The big, old roots are not so good for eating like this. But the younger plants have tender roots that taste good. You are a good caretaker of your dandelions! Happy foraging!
Thank you!!!
My, but you would be a handy fellow to have around. I am very envious of your knowledge of edible plants. I will stay clear of the poisonous hemlock. I do recall looking at that plant and noting a similarity to carrot greens. Fortunately I did not partake.
Wild carrots and poison hemlock can grow right next to each other. But once you have a mental image, it's not hard to tell them apart. And the smell of their roots is so different! The poison hemlock smells like a rat cage that hasn't been cleaned out in awhile, lol. Not at all like a carrot.
That is good to know ... watch for the smell:)
Yes, a good sense of smell is a big help in foraging for so many plants and mushrooms! :D
As always a wonderful post about how to cook delicious dishes from wild plants! If I ever go to a survival quest, I'll know what to read to see what can be eaten in the wild from the plants!
There are so many good wild plants to eat, especially in the spring time. It's easier than shopping at the grocery store. ; )
Beautiful dish! I like the way you decorated it with the yellow flowers... Nice photos! ;)
Good luck for the Steemit Iron Chef! ;))
Thanks, @tangmo! I'm getting so fancy these days, lol. ; ) I think your good luck helped -- because I got 1st place this week! I was so surprised!
You're welcome! Ah! My wish for you comes true..... Congratulation! You did really great job! ;)
There are always so many great entries from everyone else! Most of the time, I am just happy to get my cooking done by the deadline, lol. ; )
Ha ha! And I'm happy to see your beautiful dishes in the Steemit Iron Chef! ;D
I really love to eat spring greens! She restores my strength! Wild carrots and dandelions are my favorite plants! Thank you @haphazard-hstead!
Thanks, @olga.maslievich! I'm glad you enjoy nature's bounty, too! Here's to lots of spring greens this season!
SIMPLY AMAZING!!! The plate is wild, but I think now you know how much I love wild plants!
The nature really gives us awesome produce...we just have to look for them and be guided by someone passionate like you!
Each week I spend quite long minutes admiring your dishes and your words on the SIC post! Lovely!
Thanks, @progressivechef! And what a surprise to learn about this week's results! It really is amazing how much wonderful food is out there -- unappreciated. It's real food. And really delicious! :D
congrats on your win! this dish looks so beautiful, all available free and organic from nature!
Thank you, @celestualcow! Nature has a lot to offer!
Wow; it's a lot more springlike there!
Those elephant garlic leaves start coming up with any weather in the 40s at all. The dandelions and wild carrots are there all through the winter. I can dig them up as a long as the ground's not frozen -- which was most of the winter this year. We did have snow -- so now I have a bunch of snowballs in the freezer for mixed drinks! :D
looks amazing...lovely plate !
Thanks, @globaldoodlegems! It's amazing what great food is out there, free for the picking!
I like how you put great macros of ready meal and raw materials with small message :)
Have a great day!
Thanks, @liltammy!
Not something I have ever tried, but I would give it a go as long as the beer was included! ;)
haha -- That beer was good, too!
Really interesting post, I didn't know many of the things you explained. Steemit is beautiful since I learn new things everyday!
Please come and visit my foodblog, too!
Very healthy and teste food thanks for shere with us......?
hey dear @haphazard-hstead i miss you so much, please visite me, i need you so much brother. you forgeted me last 10 days.
I've been busy with work. So I haven't been on Steemit very much.
We cultivated elephant garlic.......Once planted, elephant garlic care is pretty simple. The plant does not have to be divided or harvested each year, but rather can be left alone where it will spread into a clump of multiple flowering heads. These clumps can be left as ornamentals and as deterrents to pests such as aphids, but will eventually become over crowded, resulting in stunted growth. Water the elephant garlic when first planted and regularly in the spring with 1 inch of water per week. Water the plants in the morning so the soil dries by nightfall to discourage diseases. Stop watering when the garlic’s leaves start drying out, which is an indication it’s harvest time. Elephant garlic should be ready to pick when the leaves are bent over and dying back — about 90 days after planting. When half of the leaves have died back, loosen the soil around the bulb with a trowel. You can also top off the immature plant tops (scapes) when they are tender prior to blooming. This will direct more of the plant’s energy into creating large bulbs. Elephant Garlic Uses Scapes can be pickled, fermented, stir fried, etc. and even frozen in a resealable bag, raw, for up to a year. The bulb itself can be used just as regular garlic, albeit with a milder flavor. The entire bulb can be roasted whole and used as a spread on bread. It can be sautéed, sliced and eaten raw, and minced. Drying the bulb out in a cool, dry basement for a few months will extend the life of the garlic and induce a fuller flavor. Hang the bulbs to dry and store for up to 10 months.
Thanks for ur excellent post dear@haphazard-hstead
I'm glad you enjoyed my post. But your comment is just copied from the Internet. Please don't do that in my posts.
dear @haphazard-hstead this is actually great job i like your job and work.
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vary vary nice your post