Not
long ago I was in a Whole Foods store and saw that they had burdock root. Oh, joy,
quoth I!
Huh?
I have no idea what to do with burdock root. All I know is, I had never cooked
it. As far as I could recall, I had never seen it in my life. But I love a challenge, so I
bought a pound of the stuff. Which sat for a while in my fridge, waiting for
inspiration to strike.
I
tried to find a recipe, really, I did. There were several suggested paths: (1)
treat it like any other root vegetable; (2) go with Asian flavors, particularly
soy sauce and anything aiming for umami (which I still don’t really understand);
or (3) make a healthy, all-natural face product with it. Oh, yum.
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| LONG roots! |
It’s
a plant native to this country, but it’s also an invasive weed, so if you find
it and pull it out, you’re doing your native habitat a favor. (No, I don’t know
what it looks like in the wild, or where to find it.) But then, it’s not easy
to pull out because the plant has a very
long root. You must be determined!
 |
| You can see where the Velcro idea came from |
The
best explanation of the stuff came from a blog called Edible Manhattan, by
Marie Viljoen. She says it provided the inspiration for the invention of
Velcro. Not the greatest recommendation for a tasty side-dish.
As
for cooking… She was adamant that you had to peel it first. Looking at it in
its natural state, I’d say that’s kind of obvious. But really peel it—get down to the creamy white part. To cook it, slice
or julienne it and sauté it in olive oil or butter; add white wine or lemon
juice; maybe throw in some garlic and sweet carrot (nice color contrast, that).
She and lots of other food writers say burdock pairs well with soy or miso.
 |
| Cross-section |
1
pound burdock root, peeled and julienned (long thin strips)
1
Tblsp butter
1
Tblsp olive oil
1
clove garlic, minced
1
Tblsp soy sauce
In
a skillet set over medium heat, melt the butter and mix in the olive oil. Add
the minced garlic and sauté until it is translucent (do not allow it to burn).
Add
the julienned burdock root and toss to cover the pieces. Cover the sauté pan
and let the burdock cook through (test regularly—you don’t want the pieces to
turn to mush). When cooked, add the soy sauce and toss. Serve warm, with
grilled meat.
You
can change it up by adding julienned carrots, and add a touch of color with
chopped parsley.
Good
luck!
The new Orchard Mystery coming in October. Wonder if Meg likes burdock root?
And the schedule seems to be holding for a new ebook in September. Hint: it's a sequel to last year's Relatively Dead (which was a NYT ebook bestseller), and it's called Seeing the Dead. More details to follow!
