The celebration of organic and artisanal food today has given rise to a renewed passion for the ancient craft of foraging and the tastes of its treasures. Markets are filled with these sought-after wild delicacies as they have become stars of haute cuisine and elegant home cooking. On the forefront of this movement is Connie Green, known as the head huntress in Napa Valley, who has spend the last three decades championing wild food and inspiring the finest chefs across the country to add these unique and delicious flavors to their menus.
In The Wild Table, Green takes us into the woods and mountains and onto the roadside and brings to life the romantic, mysterious world of foraging in nature. This cookbook is devoted to preparing, honouring, and enjoying wild food. Guiding us through the seasons, it features more than forty wild mushrooms, plants and berries-from well-known ingredients such as morels, chanterelles, fennel, ramps, winter greens, and huckleberries to less familiar delights such as sea beans, puffballs, and candy cap mushrooms. The irresistible recipes by chef Sarah Scott, with dishes such as Cepe (Porcini) Flan, Ramp and Shrimp Grits, Bacon-Wrapped Duck-Stuffed Morels, Grilled Quail with Pancetta and Polenta, and Persimmon Praline Trifle, highlight the distinct taste of each ingredient. With step-by-step cooking techniques for the home chef and clear guidance on gathering, cleaning, storing, and cooking, The Wild Table demystifies wild food and makes it accessible to everyone. Woven throughout are essays from Green that capture the unique essence of each foraged delicacy as well as richly told stories that transport us to the magical experience of hunting in nature.
The Wild Table brings us the bounty of each season-from the excitement of the first taste of ramps in springs to the sight of endless, golden chanterelle patches in Indian summer to the revelation of darkly disguised, elegant black trumpets in winter. It inspires us to get the earth on our hands and fall in love with the abundant flavors of the untamed world surrounding us.
