[Sca-cooks] Greens- Poke Sallet

[Philippa Alderton]

> Anne du Bosc had written:

> > Hey!  I just realized it's late March, and the
> > Poke Sallet should be appearing in the swamps and
> > lowlands back home.  <sigh>  Not a chance I could
> > find any here in the desert.......

and  Sue Clemenger asked:
> Is it a particular type of green? or just a generic
> term?
> --Maire, in a part of Artemisia that's still
> completely brown, and the
> best we're doing for signs of spring are the
> migrating geese and
> such....

Poke sallet is made from poke weed, a specific plant
which grows in marginal, "junk" ground. It tends to be
more frequent in the South. but I've found it all over
the US. It's that bush you usually find towards the
end of summer, with red stems and dark green leaves,
and bright purple berries which, when ripe and
crushed, give off an "ink" that kids delight in
playing with.

If you notice where it was growing in the fall, and
you go back during the early spring, you'll find the
very young plants growing, and these are what are
usually harvested for eating. Because it's mildly
poisonous, you need to cook them in two waters- boil
them a bit (10 minutes?) throw out the water, and
simmer them again. After that, you can use them as you
would asparagus- my favorite method is to saute them
in butter with a bit of pepper.

Very tasty- and it's sometimes called "Poor man's
asparagus:, if that will help you get an idea of what
it tastes (sorta) like.

Phlip
>



=====
Never a horse that cain't be rode,
And never a rider who cain't be throwed....

__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Greetings - send holiday greetings for Easter, Passover
http://greetings.yahoo.com/