Italian
Nothing is wasted in classical Italian cuisine, including the giblets of birds. This is a venerable variant of the traditional Bolognese sauce made with the hearts, livers and gizzards of ducks or chickens. A great use for giblets -- and an easy one to serve the skeptical.
Wild Game
This is a classic Italian recipe they use with pigeons, but it will work with squab, doves or even teal, too. Roasted birds, chopped fine and stuffed into an egg pasta, served with juniper butter with rosemary.
Foraging
“Ever eat a pine tree? Many parts are edible.” That may be the most famous quote from the father of modern…
Recipe
Cardoons are an old relative of the artichoke, tasting like a mash-up of artichoke hearts, celery and endive. They can be tricky to work with, so when I found a recipe for cardoon risotto I had to try it.
Pasta, Risotto, Gnocchi
My mom makes a mean lasagna. It was one of our staple meals when I was a kid. This is essentially her recipe, handed down to me, only I use ground venison instead of ground beef. I hope you like it, 'cause I sure do!
Fish
No matter if you are foraging, fishing or hunting, everyone wants a bonanza. Well, I had a day like that last week clamming with fellow forager Kirk Lombard. And when it was over, there was really only one dish I could make: Classic pasta with white clam sauce.
Recipe
Cattail pollen is one of the great zephyrs of the natural world: One day it's here, the next, dried up and blown to the four winds. I finally caught it at the right moment this year, and finally got to make a dish I've been wanting to make for years: Cattail pollen pasta.
Recipe
Don't be fooled by the fancy name. These are your standard ricotta-spinach gnocchi, only made with wild cow parsnip greens, and the carrot consomme is fiendishly easy to make. A knockout dish that's pure simplicity.
Pasta, Risotto, Gnocchi
This might be the prettiest - and best-tasting - dish I've made this spring. You can really taste the ramps in the pasta, and the morels, cooked simply with ramps, butter and a little stock, compliment the pasta like sunshine on a pretty girl's eyes.
Pasta, Risotto, Gnocchi
Beyond the fact that stinging nettles are a superfood, they are just so damn pretty! Blanched, they lose their sting, and take on a lurid emerald. That green makes an exciting pasta -- and a great ravioli filling. Yep, this is a double dose of nettle goodness.
Pasta, Risotto, Gnocchi
If there is one episode of Anthony Bourdain's "No Reservations" that sticks with me, it is his trip to Venice. In that episode he has risotto di go, an ethereal dish that hinges on a magical fish broth. I've remade this risotto here with striped bass. It will transport you.
Recipe
Cappelletti, a variant on the well-known tortellini of Bologna, are normally served in a clear broth. My cappelletti are vegetarian, filled with ricotta and spices, but you could use meat, too. The soup is a rich, clear duck broth; almost a consomme. Simple yet, elegant.
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