By Misty Callies
Most of us, after Michigan’s long, sometimes dreary winters, look forward to the first signs of spring—woodland wildflowers and garden bulbs, the transformation of barren twigs into a green haze, the stirrings and colors and sounds of returning wildlife.
But some of us at Slow Food Huron Valley—those of us with gardens and farms—feel a special glee as the first foodstuffs come ready—asparagus and greens, tart rhubarb, gooseberries and currants, elderflowers and service berries. Not all of these edibles are Michigan natives, but all are hardy here, beautiful enough to include in landscape plantings, and perennially productive—assets to consider when making additions to your backyard plantings.
Rhubarb, originally a native of Asia, came to North America in the eighteenth century. A hardy plant, its dense curled leaf ball breaks the soil crust early and can withstand late frosts. Once the days warm even a bit, the robust plant seems to unfurl with exponential speed; stalks can be ready to be made into compotes, pies, chutneys and jams by April or early May. Cutting out its flowers altogether or before seed heads form will strengthen the plant, as will limiting the harvest to about one half or two-thirds of each plant and finishing it by the end of June; this allows the plant to recover and store sufficient energy to return the next year. (Infrequent “special occasion” harvests in summer or fall are permissible—the stalks will likely be tougher than in spring—but resist the urge to “scalp” the entire plant.)
Asparagus is likely a native of the eastern Mediterranean, but it arrived in North American even earlier than rhubarb and has self-seeded wild patches in many areas of the US. Since Michigan is the country’s largest producer of cultivated asparagus, you may not feel a need to grow your own, but, like rhubarb, an asparagus patch, if treated properly, can go on almost indefinitely. (Our particular planting is over thirty years old, and still produces more than enough for two people.) Depending on the spring, stalks can begin pushing up by late April. This year’s harvest has been very unusual, with the warm temperatures in March bringing stalks up early and the succession of May freezes delaying further harvests for a few weeks. (Unlike rhubarb, asparagus stalks cannot withstand a frost, though the buried crown will continue to produce new stalks once the temperatures warm.) When the weather turns reliably mild, the stalks grown even faster than rhubarb—inches, even in a day—and daily harvest is often necessary. As with rhubarb, continued plant vigor—and decades of harvest—require picking to end, usually in early to mid-June when the stalks become thinner and coarser. Allow the stalks to mature to beautiful ferny plants; this will allow the crowns to manufacture and store food for the next year. Don’t cut back the remains until next year’s very early spring—say, March.
Ribes—currants and gooseberries, in our lingo—are native to many temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Though all could be grown in Michigan, many cultivars are illegal because of their potential threat as vectors of the white pine blister rust disease; an easily obtained permit is required to grow black currants anywhere in the state while a permit is necessary for red and white currants and gooseberries only if planting in the disease control zone—mostly northern Michigan and the Upper Peninsula. These small shrubs have attractive leaves, and some cultivars have showy flowers as well, though gooseberries usually have thorns. The berry clusters are also beautiful, and the harvest is usually plentiful—again, one to three shrubs can be enough for a small family—but wildlife will gladly consume whatever you don’t pick. Although some folks appreciate the tart—and, in the case of black currants, the slight husky bitterness—of raw ribes, most applications call for sweetening and cooking the berries into sauces, jellies, syrups, liqueurs, and pies or crisps. I’m particularly enthusiastic about my black currant bushes as the source for my favorite jam, homemade crème de cassis, and savory additions to duck, pork, and chicken dishes.
Elderberry (sambucus canadensis), a suckering shrub, and serviceberry (amelanchier), also called shadbush or Juneberry, a small, often multi-trunk tree, are both Michigan natives and well worth including in the landscape, even if you leave their fruits to the very eager birds. Both display beautiful white blossoms in May, and the elderflowers can be used to make syrups, liqueurs, and wines. (Think English countryside.)
The black elderberries don’t ripen until late summer or early fall, and if you manage to harvest them before the birds do, be sure to cook them into pies, syrups, jellies or other heated applications as the raw fruit is considered toxic and will likely cause stomach upset. Serviceberries, as their alternate names suggest, ripen in June, and the sweet-tart fruit can be eaten raw or cooked, used much like blueberries. I have to admit that, although we have at least six serviceberries and a handful of elderberries on our property, we mostly leave the fruit to the birds; we’re usually more than busy enough with the rest of the garden and orchard.
With the advent of internet and Google, it’s easy nowadays to find recipes using these fruits and vegetables, but following is a recipe highlighting asparagus. For it, you would ideally use stalks of a similar diameter, around half an inch, that you can peel. While peeling isn’t necessary for many asparagus recipes, by doing so in this one, you bring forth the vegetable’s silky texture; a crispy topping offers contrast. Though a trifle tedious, peeling asparagus isn’t difficult; lay the stalk in a horizontal line on the cutting board, and, using a sharp vegetable peeler and light strokes, peel from near the head to the foot, turning the stalk as you go. It will be a matter of a few minutes for a delicious dish, and, if you’ve planted the fruits and vegetables suggested here in your own backyard, a matter of a few steps outside to obtain ingredients for many others.
ASPARGUS GRATIN
Serves 2 as an entrée, 3-4 as a side
Ingredients:
extra-virgin olive oil
1 lb. asparagus, preferably more-or-less the same diameter and preferably peeled
1 T. capers
1 t. lemon zest
½ t. kosher salt
several grindings of black pepper
1 T. fresh lemon juice
1 T. water
1-2 T. unsalted butter
1½ T. olive oil
1 c. fresh breadcrumbs
1/8 t. kosher salt
several grindings of black pepper
3-4 T. (about 1 oz.) grated Parmesan cheese
Preheat the oven to 400F. Lightly oil an 11” x 8” gratin pan.
Pile the asparagus, all the stalks going in the same direction, into the gratin pan and toss with 2 T. olive oil, capers, lemon zest, ½ t. salt and pepper. Sprinkle over the lemon juice and water and dot the asparagus with the butter. Cover the pan with foil and put it into the oven. Roast the asparagus for 5-8 minutes and then, using tongs, redistribute the stalks a bit in the pan, recover, and roast another 5-7 minutes, or until nearly tender.
Meanwhile, heat the 1½ T. olive oil in a small pan over medium-low heat. Add the breadcrumbs, 1/8 t. salt and pepper. Stir the crumbs for a minute or two, or until very lightly browned. Let the mixture cool and then stir in the Parmesan cheese.
When the asparagus is almost done, remove the pan from the oven. Evenly distribute the breadcrumb mixture over the asparagus and return the pan, uncovered, to the oven for about 5 minutes, or until the gratin is nicely browned. Serve hot.
As an entrée, the gratin is very good topped with 1-2 fried eggs per serving, perhaps accompanied by roasted potatoes and crusty bread. As a side, it’s good with most anything.