I vividly remember my European grandmother gathering young nettles, sorrel and fiddleheads in the woods near our village. “After winter we need all these vitamins and minerals, the nettles will make you strong” she would say. The hint of sour in the taste of sorrel soup and the mild bitterness of risotto with nettles were so different from our winter fare, they remain imprinted in my memory.
Of course, urbanization, supermarkets and pollution arrived and this source of nourishment nearly disappeared. Then decades later, I was living between America and Italy, when I first read about the renaissance of foraging. I was thrilled to see that some of the most creative chefs, such as Rene Redzepi and Massimo Bottura, are bringing our attention back to the gifts of the forest.
But what was truly the best for me was to discover firsthand that the art of foraging is alive in Romagna, Tuscany and Umbria. My dear friend Rossana and her husband took me on many trips to gather wild asparagus, valeriana, watercress, and dandelion. Recently she proudly wrote to me to share that she is making tagliatelle to accompany the stridoli (silene vulgaris) and wild asparagus she has just found. The remains went into crescioncini stuffed with wild herbs.
Inspired by possibilities, I even included foraging in the Esperienza culinary tour. We did it in one of the most controlled and environmentally clean areas near Pennabilli. In 2021 we will not be physically present to do this again but for Mother’s Day, you could still experience foraging and cooking live with the charismatic chef Matteo Cameli.
A storyteller and a master forager, but above all a truffle hunter, Matteo will take us foraging near his home in the mountain village of Portico di Romagna, and later in his kitchen, he will make delicious dishes from the treasures he can find at this time of year, and introduce us to some locally made wines.
The farmers’ markets in the United States, and even in Minnesota, will be filling up with the short-lived delicacies of spring… or perhaps you’ll discover what is available to you locally. Here is one resource to help you. Hopefully soon, we can return to Pennabilli, but in the meantime, we aim to inspire you to capture the essence of spring on your own plate!