From Episode One: Vermont (Pilot)

Prep time: 45 minutes

Servings: 2

This elegant, wild dish is a favorite of mine, and now that lion's mane is widely available through cultivation, it can be enjoyed any time of year. It is an excellent substitute for folks with shellfish allergies or simply as a vegetarian substitute.

What always amazes me is how closely lion's mane mimics crab in this recipe. I often serve this to unsuspecting diners, and they always ask where I sourced the crab. My answer, in season, is I found them in the woods. A great conversation starter for a dinner party or date night.

Ingredients

12 oz of shredded and cleaned lion's mane mushrooms

8 oz (more or less) of panko breadcrumbs

½ bell pepper, diced (red, yellow, or green)

4 Tbs of avocado aioli (mayonnaise)

½ cup of finely diced red onion

2 pasture-raised eggs

2 cloves garlic, diced

4 tbsp of liquid aminos

Optional: fresh herbs of choice for color and flavor (chives, oregano, cilantro)

Directions

Step 1

Start by cleaning and shredding the lion's mane into 1- or 2-inch chunks. Bring a cast-iron skillet or frying pan to medium heat, add the chunks of lion's mane, and a pinch of salt to sweat the water out of the mushrooms (about 4-5 minutes). Continue to agitate the pan throughout to make sure all sides of the mushrooms are lightly toasted as this brings out the unique seafood flavor of the ingredient. You will see the mushrooms release their water when they come to temperature. You can press them gently to encourage this release.

Step 2

After sweating the mushrooms, let them cool. While cooling, combine all the other ingredients in a mixing bowl and mix thoroughly. What you should be left with is a thick cake-like batter. You can regulate this by adding the panko slowly throughout. Stir in the cooled and sweated lion's mane chunks.

Step 3

You can let this set up overnight, but it is fine to cook the cakes right away. Form the mix into two sections, each about the size of a baseball. Press them down on a cutting board until they are about 1 inch thick.

Step 4

In the same pan where you sweat the lion's mane chunks, lightly grease the pan with olive oil or your favorite organic cooking oil, then bring it back to medium heat. Place both cakes into the pan and cover. Let the cakes cook for 7-10 minutes per side and remove from the heat. No longer than 20 minutes. You can speed up the cook time by pressing the cakes as they cook.

Step 5

Remove from the heat and plate the cakes. Add a salad of mixed greens, then top with avocado aioli or your favorite sauce (remoulade or horseradish also works well), along with some minced herbs. If available, a few edible wildflower florets as garnish add beautiful color and a deeper sense of wild elegance to this dish.

Enjoy!

-Kevin Chap

From Episode Four: Vermont (Spring Awakenings)

Prep time: 45 minutes

Servings: 8

This is one of my absolute favorite dishes to celebrate the kickoff of the spring foraging season. All of the big three spring wild edibles of the northeast are represented in this dish. Combine that with the symbolism of the egg—in my culture, that represents fertility and rebirth, remember Easter eggs here. The potato is synonymous with Irish culture, though most people don't realize they originated right here in the Americas.

Add burdock or sunchoke (keep in mind that it’s only available wild in late fall) for a truly wild flare to the crust. This feels like a truly wild way to celebrate merging cultures and traditions through a completely relatable, universally recognized dish.

Ingredients

4 or 5 medium-sized golden potatoes

About half the weight of the potatoes of rinsed and peeled burdock root (substitute sunchoke if not available, or replace with two more golden potatoes)

6-8 oz of wild harvested yellow morel mushrooms, chopped (replace with any cultivated wild species, maitake, shitake, portabella, oyster)

*Dozen wild harvested fiddleheads, boiled and chopped (replace with baby asparagus or Brussel sprouts)

8 fully mature wild harvested ramps, bulb and leaves, chopped (replace with organic cultivated leeks, add garlic or onion to taste if desired)

12 pasture-raised or farm-fresh eggs

½ stick of organic butter (substitute organic safflower or olive oil)

Optional: ½ cup of grated parmesan or asiago cheese (substitute your favorite cheese)

*Important Note: Fiddleheads are slightly toxic, containing a compound called thiaminases which in high amounts causes gastrointestinal distress. It is recommended to boil fiddleheads for about 10 minutes to leech this and other potentially harmful compounds out before ingesting.

Directions

Step 1

There are two ways for making the quiche crust: potato and burdock, or sunchoke.

The first is to fry the mixture in a cast iron skillet. Cover the mixture and add butter will ensure the starch has enough fat to keep it from sticking. Check and stir often to get an even heat throughout. It’s like making home fries. About 20 minutes at a low-medium heat.

The second option is to dice the potatoes and burdock, or sunchoke, and boil until fork tender, about 30 minutes.

Step 2

Properly oil a seasoned, large cast iron skillet with oil or butter. Add the cooked potato mixture to the skillet and mash it, making sure the bottom of the pan is completely covered, and add a bit more oil or butter for good measure. Add a bit of salt and pepper if desired.

Step 3

Chop or dice the boiled fiddleheads and raw ramps, then stir-fry them in a separate pan with a skillet. After 2 minutes, add the chopped morels. 5-7 minutes on a low-medium heat until everything is tender but not falling apart.

Step 4

While you are precooking the vegetables, crack and beat the dozen eggs in a mixing bowl. Add the vegetable mixture to the beaten eggs and pour over the mashed potato crust. Place in an oven at 375 degrees for about 30-40 minutes.

If cooking on open fire, top the cast iron skillet with another to create a Dutch oven effect. Open fire is highly variable on temperature so cooking times may vary. Ensure a glowing bed of embers with little flame, placing the skillet about 6-10 inches above the heat source. The quiche will be done when you insert a toothpick or skewer and no moisture or egg is visible when you remove it.

Step 5

Remove from oven and allow to cool for 4 or 5 minutes. The egg will fall a bit and settle on the crust, becoming a rich and flavorful meal. Portion and serve as desired.

I love a little mixed herb or parsley sprig as a garnish. A dollop of siracha or your favorite hot sauce sets this offering off nicely.

Enjoy!

-Kevin Chap

From Episode Five: Arizona (Let Food Be Thy Medicine)

Prep time: Beans – 2-4 hours (personal preference), Noaples – 10-12 minutes

Servings: 2-4

A classic southwestern dish, nopales, or prickly pear cactus paddles, are widely available throughout the West and offer a cornucopia of both flavor and nourishment.

In the spring, prickly pear cactus also produces fruiting bodies that have been used as a food source for millennia in indigenous cultures, from jams and syrups to raw fruit. These can be sautéed or boiled, but the most common preparation is to sauté them with tomato, garlic, and onion in a bit of oil.

Nopales are extremely rich in fiber and calcium and may foam when cooked alone, which is completely normal, but worth mentioning. Tepary beans are a traditional food of several tribes of the Southwest, but are most closely associated with the Tohono O'odham people, who have grown them as a staple crop for hundreds of years. They come in a variety of colors, with black being the most widely available.

It is not essential to use tepary beans if they aren't available, but if they are, they can't be beat! Not only are they delicious, but they are also packed full of micronutrients that help slow digestion and sugar absorption in the gut, so they can help your body absorb more nutrients and control sugar spikes, also aiding in diabetes prevention. Something our American culture needs to be exceedingly conscious of, no matter your family heritage.

This dish creates a real sense of the abundance of the Southwest, a place that many Americans view as stark, arid and devoid of life, which couldn't be further from the truth.

No matter how this dish is prepared, on a campfire in the outback or in a fine-dining setting, you will never go wrong with nopales and beans.

Ingredients

1 cup of tepary beans (substitute dried black, pinto, or soldier beans, as available)

2 cups water

1 medium paddle of prickly pear cactus (cleaned and de-eyed, can be peeled if desired)

1 large organic tomato

1 medium organic red or white onion

2 cloves minced garlic

4 oz of organic olive or your favorite cooking oil

Salt and pepper (to taste)

Optional: prickly pear syrup (substitute maple or any organic sweetener you like)

Directions

Step 1

In a medium pot, bring two cups of water to a boil. Add one cup of tepary beans, return to a boil, then reduce to a low simmer. The lid can be removed for a firmer bean or left on for a much softer bean.

Keep in mind, cooking times will vary. For a firm bean, allow at least two hours; for a softer paste, allow at least three hours. I have soaked, twice boiled for two hours each session, and still had a distinct bean. These beans do not break down many other modern culinary beans will due to their heartiness and nutritional value. Use your discretion and experiment. You can cook these beans anytime, as they will save and can be added at the end of the nopales cooking to reheat.

Step 2

While the beans are cooking, go ahead and dice the onion and tomato, and crush and mince the garlic. I like to cut the nopales into long strips, leaving the outer layer of the cactus intact. However, some may prefer to peel the skin of the cactus as it can be a bit bitter. But this is where a lot of the nutrients are found.

Keep in mind that proper preparation of the cactus is a must, as they not only have long spikes but also small hairs that are nearly invisible to the naked eye. These are actually much more bothersome if missed during prep and can irritate the lips, fingers, mouth, or throat if ingested.

Always wear thick rawhide gloves when handling the cactus in the wild and all the way through prep. My rule is to always scrape twice. Once in the field before they enter the basket, and once in the kitchen before they are prepared. This usually ensures you've cleared any uninvited guests from your meal.

Step 3

Bring a large skillet or saucepan (I love cooking with cast iron) to medium heat, add 2 oz of your cooking oil, then add the onion, garlic and glace for about 8-10 minutes. 

Once the mixture is translucent, add the tomato and fresh nopales and sauté for another 10 minutes, ensuring the nopales are fork tender. You can use the extra oil sparingly throughout if things begin to stick from all the fiber. Use discerning amounts of salt and pepper, to taste, to bring out the richness and complexity of flavor. 

Step 4

Create a bed of cooked tepary beans and scoop on a healthy portion of the sautéed nopales mixture. Add a drizzle of your favorite syrup or jam for sweetness. Hot sauce is also a favorite for southwest flair and even preferred in the heat of the summer months. 

Kick your boots off and enjoy that Sonoran sunset!

From Episode Six: Upstate New York (Headwaters of the Hudson)

Prep time: 45 minutes

Servings: 4-6

Description

It's important to represent an omnivorous diet, since I am an omnivore. As such, I participate as intimately as possible in the process of animal harvest, including hunting. I think so many of us would eat far less meat if we were more involved, more aware and understood the connection certain animals have played in our evolution as a species.

Hunting was a way for me to connect with nature in a different way than foraging. It also included a familial wisdom that was passed down from my father, as it has been for many youngsters for thousands of years. This dish represents two of my totem animals and the ones I have learned so much from here in the northeast: deer and bear.

While I focus on a plant-forward diet, I try to make the best choices when it comes to animal products. I have no problem with meat and dairy. What I do have a problem with is industrial meat, which is inhumane, unhealthy and horrible for the environment.

If more of us took up this pursuit, or we relied more heavily on wild harvest for our animal products, we would quickly correct some of the biggest challenges in our food system, our personal health and our relationship with the natural world. 

This dish embodies the fall season in the northeast so perfectly. I absolutely love the combination of venison and acorn flour, as this is a food for whitetail deer, and where many hunters focus their attention during the fall hunting season.

In fact, harkening all the way back to at least the first century BC, breaded and fried meats have been a mainstay in European cuisine since time immemorial.

The addition of wild mushrooms helps set off the earthy nuttiness of the flour and acorn fed venison and bear fat. The blueberry and maple add a splash of color and sweetness that brings the whole dish together and gives a deep connection to fall in the Northeast.

Ingredients

48 oz of wild venison loin or backstrap (substitute free range beef, bison, or elk filet or backstrap)

8 oz of rendered bear fat (substitute organic, free range beef tallow or similar cooking oil)

20 oz of wild or organic cultivated seasonal mushroom (maitake, oyster, sulfur shelf)

2 cups of acorn flour (substitute organic almond or organic all-purpose wheat flour)

1 cup of wild blueberries (substitute wild blackberries or grapes)

6 oz of Vermont pure maple syrup

1 or 2 eggs

Optional: organic farrow, wild rice, or any grain of choice

Optional: Dried herbs or aromatics (Italian medley or sage and cumin work great).

Directions

Step 1

Cut the venison loin into 1-inch-thick cutlets and spread them out on a cutting board. Pound each of them out with a meat tenderizer or mallet until 1/8 inch thick or thinner.

Step 2

Separate egg whites into a large mixing bowl, add a splash of water, and beat until frothy. Egg whites will ensure an airy crust to the acorn flour, while using the whole egg will create a heartier crust. Set aside the acorn flour in a separate large mixing bowl. Add a few pinches of dried herbs and salt and pepper if you like. You can really play with the flour as this will create that classic crust of the schnitzel and is pretty hard to screw up, as long as everything is dry.

Optional: If you are adding a starch or grain to the base of this recipe, start it at this phase of the cook. Farrow and wild rice take about the same amount of time to cook, about 40 minutes.

Add 1 ½ cups water to 1 cup grain. Bring water to a boil, add pre-soaked grain, return to a boil, lower the heat to simmer for 40 minutes with the lid askew, but still partially covering the pot.

Step 3

The next piece takes a little good timing to keep everything hot and happening in a concert of flavor and enjoyment. 

In a large cast iron skillet, melt about 4 oz of rendered bear fat over medium heat. While that is coming to temperature, dunk the tenderized venison loins in the egg wash, then dredge them in the acorn flour.

Make sure to get a healthy coating over both sides of each tenderized loin. Then drop into the now-hot oil in the skillet (you will know the oil is ready when it pops if you flick it with a bit of water). Because they are so thin, the schnitzel will cook quickly, so about 4 minutes a side.

Step 4

While they are frying, add the blueberries (or selected fruit), maple syrup, and a tablespoon of oil to a separate skillet. Bring it to medium-low heat. You can begin crushing the fruit as it comes to temperature with a fork or spatula, but I like to keep it rough. If you prefer a more refined sauce, you can add a pinch of acorn flour, macerate the berries as fine as you can, (food processor or blender is not cheating) and pass them through a sieve or strainer to remove the skins and thicken the sauce. Set aside for garnish.

Step 5

As the schnitzel finishes, plate over a bed of your selected grain (optional) and in the same pan you cooked the venison, add the mushrooms with a bit more oil. I suggest shredding maitake or oysters into individual fronds, keeping them large enough to provide a range of textures for cooking. You can add garlic, salt and pepper to taste, or just let the mushrooms pick up that lovely flavor of the drippings alone. When the edges of the mushrooms become crispy, they are done.

Cutting into long strips is fine too and will give a much more even cook in the oil and the schnitzel's drippings. If you do use sulfur shelf (chicken of the woods), I definitely recommend slicing it into thin strips due to the timing to make this particular mushroom tender. You only need about five minutes for this.

Step 6

While you are frying the mushrooms, drizzle your wild berry sauce over the schnitzel and grain bed. Finish by adding the crispy mushrooms as a side or garnish. You can also add chives, parsley, or a lemon wedge for a more refined service. This is a dish that can be dressed up for a dinner party or dressed down for a campfire meal of some magnificence.

Make sure you have a view of the sky while enjoying this dish, and revel in the cyclical, seasonal elegance of wild foods and the abundance of nature!

I always take a quiet moment to reflect when eating wild game, cultivating gratitude for the sacrifice and offering the animal has made for my sustenance. Visions and emotions of the hunt may flood back to you. This is a very good thing and creates that deep, cellular connection to our food.