Recently a patient gave Fabri a bag of wild hops they collected. Thankfully they explained what I was to do with them because I never ate such a thing before! They said to treat them like wild asparagus which I do have some experience with. So you either boil them and eat them with a little oil or make them into a frittata. Since we have all those free eggs (some of which I'm hoarding to decorate for Easter), we went the frittata route.
First I boiled the hops in salted water for 5 or 6 minutes to make them soft. Meanwhile I whisked six eggs together with salt, pepper, parmesan cheese and a couple of splashes of milk. Then I put the hops and the egg mix together in a pan and let it cook covered for about 10 minutes. You have to lift up the sides of the frittata to let the egg run underneath so that it will all cook.
It was really good. The hops don't have a strong taste at all. We didn't eat the flowers (cones) which are what is used for beer and have a strong flavor that Fabri loves in his IPA. We ate the fresh spring shoots; the leaves were barely open on them. They just gave the omelet a crisp, fresh taste and of course a beautiful green color. We ate the frittata along side some chicken quesedillas. Fabri ate so fast he didn't have time to breathe, so I guess he really liked it all, as did I.
I like the idea of collecting food. Here they collect berries, mushrooms, greens, asparagus, and apparently hops to eat. I wish I could do that. At our friend Angela & Gabrielle's house I tasted wild strawberry liquor that Angela's mom made with berries she collected. That's on my list of things to make; it was very yummy! And in the fall I go crazy for the porcini mushrooms which can be collected in the mountains. Thankfully neighbors and patients like to share in what they've found and Fabri and I get to have these food adventures!
6 comments:
looks fantastic jess!
Wow, that's really cool, I've never heard of eating hops, much less collecting them in the wild. I'm sure Harris and Marijo will tell you if they'd known, they'd have saved some of the hops for you that they'd planted behind their house in Plymouth that grew like crazy every year. I'm intrigued by the idea of gathering food, but with my limited knowledge of it, I'd be afraid I'd pick something I wasn't supposed to!
HI Jessie, Your pictures are great. It looks so homey and inviting.
I agree with Jen - I would be a litle afraid to pick and eat from the wild... didn't you see that Jenifer Aniston movie with the poison blueberries or whatever that was?? Anyways, your pictures do look very yummy and fresh. I think I would like to sample your frittata in my cubicle right now.
I read your gardening post on facebook yesterday and I hope you will post some pictures of your little garden soon :-)
I think mushrooms can be dangerous, and I would only go collecting with someone who knew what they were doing, but I don't think there's anything that looks like wild strawberries that isn't wild strawberries. So it depends what I'm collecting how brave I'd be!!
Great post Jess! I've been learning so much about wild edibles here in the Appalachians. Its a tradition that has been all but lost here in the states so I am happy to hear that its still practiced in Italy. And that frittata looks delicious!
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