Taste of the Forest

Today the boys and I met friends at Hamlin Park to look for baby bracken ferns . These are traditonally a Japanese delicacy. I wasnt keen on the idea of eating them, but I wanted the boys to enjoy a walk through the forest and learn to identify something edible in the forest. It was really beneficial, and amazingly the boys actually enjoyed eating them. Wesam even had seconds and declared that the ferns were far better than brocoli! We had the ferns sauteed in soy sauce with some sesame oil, onion and garlic! We served them over a bowl of sticky rice and even I had to try some after smelling the sauce! To my amazement they were really quite good! We first had to blanch them before stir frying them, and while they simmered it smelled like Marzipan. I expected the ferns to taste woody and bitter after smelling them blanching. But all in all they were tender, almost like a zucchini in that they really had no flavor but took on the flavors of the sauce! Bracken ferns are really only available for about 2-3 weeks during the year and I think we may have to just go look for some more of those before the season is over! It would certianly make a nice presentation for a dinner party! Heres a few things we learned about harvesting Bracken ferns: 1) Harvest only the new sprouts that are still curled up. Once they open they become very tough. Harvest the stems also, but not all the way to the ground. 2) Once harvested, wash them well, then blanch in boiling water 2-3 minutes until they are tender. If you pull one out of the pot and squish the end of the stem it should be soft and pliable. During the blanching process a lot of the brown fuzz from the fern will float to the top which is a good thing. The brown fuzz is supposedly a stomach irritant. 3) You can then drain and rinse the fern once blanched and stir fry in a sauce of your choice but we did veg oil and sesame oil in equal parts, sauteed onion and garlic, black pepper, and soy sauce. 4) You can also drain your fern and lay out to dry or dry them in a dehydrator to eat later after rehydration. It was not recomended to freeze ferns since they have a tendency to become slimy. I thought about pickling, some one said they had tried pickling and it didnt come out well, but they pickled before blanching so that is a thought for future use. I regretably did not bring my camera today :( Next time!