Frutti di bosco?
Literally, these really are "fruits of the forest," but don't eat them out of hand. Remove the green husk and you'll find a black walnut, with a flavor much more intense than that of its cousin, the English walnut. Or so I was told by Nova Kim and Les Hook of Wild Gourmet Food — literally, it's also a tough nut, and as of this writing I haven't got cracking.
A previous market day offered a first encounter with milkweed. As a consumer, that is; from long-ago afternoons I knew that its leaves feed the caterpillars of monarch and swallowtail butterflies. Milkweed pods may be boiled and eaten whole, or sauteed, I found, though for either preparation slightly smaller, less mature pods might be less tannic.
The market also offers many ready-to-eat foods, for sample and for sale, often from merchants whose doors aren't yet open for business. See the slideshow.
New Amsterdam Market
South St. between Beekman St. and Peck Slip
www.NewAmsterdamPublic.org
The blueberries/cream/meringue combo is called Eton Mess, and I agree that it was excellent.
Posted by: Stephanie | September 15, 2009 at 07:57 AM