Some fun facts about some of our favorite summer foods.
You probably know that morel mushrooms are not not only seasonal, but also difficult to cultivate largely a foraged product. What you may not know is that the morel harvest is particularly abundant in years following forest fires. Now it's hard to root for forest fires, especially when they are damaging to people, pets and property, but these morels remind us that forest fires are part of a naturally occurring cycle. That's kind of beautiful. Don't you think?
This year promises to be a banner year for our favorite fungus. Our first round was a rousing success and the latest batch has just arrived. In Stage Left, we're going to continue to offer morels, simply roasted with herbed cream (optional) as an appetizer or a side (try them with chicken). Wine Suggestion: Pinot Noir!
Another harbinger of spring, is the arrival of the tender and peppery spring onion, known as the ramp.
While fresh ramps are delicious and we're grilling them off to serve with scallops, ramps respond exceedingly well to pickling. Pickled ramps aren't just a second-best substitute for fresh, they're one of our favorite things to pickle. The acid accentuates the peppery/spicy qualities of the ramp and they even get a little crunchy. Yum.
We've held on to one jar of pickled ramps that we've kept in the wine cellar since last summer. To make things even more interesting, we're serving freshly pickled ramps, as well last year's pickled Ramps with our Bison and Foie Gras Pate.
We will also continue to serve fresh grilled ramps and ramp greens with the scallop dish that appeared in last week's email.