Ajooma

Our organic box scheme’s aim is to provide seasonal, local, and organic food. Not being familiar with the local produce many vegetables look alien to me. I laughed for 5 minutes the first time I saw brussel sprouts on the vine. But even to the English, many of the treats in the box are a mystery as well. Black salsify is one of them. I can go to the website and find out in advance what’s coming, so I was really excited about black salsify because I thought it was 우엉. When I took the dirt encrusted root vegetables that resembled tree branches I was baffled. Able & Cole usually have loads of handy recipes, but just one for the salsify.

Ingredients

• 400 g black salsify
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice or vinegar
• 3 tablespoons butter
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 150 g seasoned flour
• 1-2 tablespoons butter for sautéing

Scrub the salsify and peel the skin. The white flesh starts to ooze a sticky white milky goo almost immediately. It was like the Japanese 마. Kin of starchy, but thicker. Chop the roots into two or three-inch lengths, halving or quartering them if they are thick. Drop the pieces into a bowl of water with a few tablespoons of lemon juice or vinegar. (The acid prevents the roots from turning brown in the air.) Steam for 10 minutes. (The root gets mushy if you cook it too long.) Mash the steamed salsify and stir in the butter, salt, and pepper. Shape in small flat cakes, roll in flour, and sauté in butter, browning first one side and then the other.

We had them with thick slices of bread and some spicy pear chutney from General Medley (Purchased in Tisbury when I went mushroom foraging). Frying masks the taste of many bland foods, as does chutney. The few recipes I could find online used salsify mash as a side dish next to fish. There seem to be lots of dishes that are only really good as accompaniment to meat, so vegetarians miss out on those too. My small palate world just got smaller. Oh, and next weeks box? Another shipment of salsify.