Salsify

I have been searching high and low for a few years now for this root vegetable...and finally here it is! I will explain. A while ago, my husband and I had the opportunity to go to dinner at Blue Hill at Stone Barns in Pocantico Hills, NY. Any "foodie" from the New York Area is familiar with Blue Hill. Stone Barns is an agricultural center 30 miles north of New York City and is a full working four season farm. The Blue Hill Restaurant at Stone Barns uses all fresh ingredients from its farm and surrounding farms in the Hudson Valley region. There are no menus, just a listing of almost 100 ingredients that are available. A menu is then created around the items that you select. The chefs, making magic in the kitchen (which you can view from a picture window outside) use your selections as a guide and then come up with a tasting menu that they believe you would enjoy by the items chosen. This is really more of an experience than a typical dinner out. We enjoyed many different items that night and being that it was a few years ago now, my memory is fading on each dish that was presented to us. However, one that I will never forget was the Salsify, a root vegetable that was cut into match stick sized pieces and served on a tiny bed of nails. I don't remember any seasoning or sauce, it was just cooked and in its natural state. It was so unusual to me at the time (not so much now), I went on the quest to find it in every produce store I could get to. No luck until now. I found it on the shelves at my local Whole Foods. It was just sitting there, almost teasing me, as if it had been there all this time. I don't remember but I think I even gasped when I saw the sign for it. I quickly grabbed a handful and snapped a picture right there in the middle of the produce section to send along to a friend who knew of my "hunt". I searched the Internet for recipes that included salsify but then decided to recreate those little matchstick size pieces instead. Peeling the veggie first, cutting it into the smaller pieces, then tossing into a bowl with some lemon juice and water to prevent it from browning, I then boiled the salsify in water until fork tender. When the little white "sticks" came out of the boiling water, I then drained them and popped them in a 350 degree oven for another 15 minutes. They never even made it to our dinner plates, we just kept munching on them while I made the rest of our dinner. I have read descriptions of salsify as having an oyster like flavor, although I did not get that. Rather, it reminded me of a cross between an artichoke heart and a very dense potato. Glad that I opted to keep it as close to natural as possible, I will definitely try one of the handful of yummy recipes I found next time. Hopefully, it doesn't take another 2 years to get my hands on some more!

Blue Hill at Stone Barns

630 Bedford Hills Road

Pocantico Hills, New York 10591

(914) 366-9600

http://bluehillfarm.com/