EATING
Spring Cleaning A different sort of seasonal menu. by Martin Mallet
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wasting food is almost sacrilege, a devaluation of the effort that went into the chase as well as the life of the animal. But at the same time, it must be said that the standard for waste is ultimately a personal one, a matter of perspective, skill, and even culture. As you gain experience and expand your repertoire of culinary tricks, so, too, does your capacity to make full use of your harvest. And that can lead to a deeper connection, a more profound satisfaction from every catch, every kill. Ultimately, then, waste is simply the failure to employ the fullest extent of your abilities. Eliminating waste is an ideal, not an absolute reality. It’s no cardinal sin to occasionally breast out a bird. But there’s another kind of waste I find much more difficult to accept, and that’s losing food from the freezer. Here, proper inventory management is key, so that you don’t find yourself surprised by a three-year-old freezer-burnt steak that looks like an Andean mummy. A simple rule helps me to avoid this. I won’t start a new season for a species until I have used up everything I have on hand from the previous season. It’s a simple, uncompromising principle, which doubles as a potent motivator. The downside is that there are certain times of the year where I am inevitably scrambling to empty the freezer in preparation for the next season. So I’ve extended the spring-cleaning tradition to culinary life. I dig out the leftover odds and ends and incorportate them into complete meals that signal the start of another sporting year. OR HUNTERS,
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Spring Vegetable Gnocchi
talian gnocchi have never been a favorite of mine. They’re not at all forgiving; everything from the variety of potato to the method of mixing them must be just right, and in the end, it’s just too much effort relative to making fresh pasta. Parisian gnocchi, on the other hand, are the polar opposite. Easy to make and modify with the addition of cheeses, herbs, and other flavorings, they freeze very well and are an ideal blank canvas for a variety of seasonal preparations. Instead of potatoes and flour, Parisian gnocchi are made with pâte à choux dough, the same used in French classics such as gougères, éclairs, and profiteroles. In this recipe, fiddlehead purée is incorporated in the dough, which is a great way to use up leftover frozen fiddleheads. Serves 4 2 cups fiddleheads, cleaned (fresh or frozen) ¾ cup water 1 /3 cup butter 1 teaspoon kosher salt 1 cup all-purpose flour ½ cup grated Swiss cheese 2 teaspoons tablespoon minced parsley 2 teaspoons tablespoon minced chives 3 eggs 2 tablespoons unsalted butter 2 tablespoons olive oil 8 ounces ramps, separated into greens and sliced bulbs ½ lemon May / June 2018 · 77