QUALITALY_133

March/April 2023 V MAGAZINE name and became all the rage. Now, thanks also to the pandemic that has led to a rapprochement with nature and a speculative move away from professional kitchens, it is more relevant than ever. Foraging can really be an antidote to the difficult times being experienced by the restaurant and hospitality industry in general, which is suffering from the stress load and the heavy workload - even in the evenings - and is struggling to find staff. ‘I started more than 20 years ago, at the beginning I lived it as a moment of respite to discharge the adrenalin accumulated during the busiest moments of work. On Sundays, between one service and another, I used to go up to Valchiusella to harvest,’ says Mariangela Susigan , cheffe of the Gardenia Restaurant in Caluso, on the phone while picking herbs in the vineyards. According to Mina Novello , author of numerous books and recipe books on the herbs of the Biella region, ‘there is a personal gratification in procuring for oneself what one will then cook. Then there is the contact with nature, the walking, the fresh air, all healthy aspects, and the knowledge of one’s own territory. You learn to observe not to see, you focus on the small not the big, and this helps concentration’. Are wild herbs better? “They have an aroma, a taste, a texture, a pliability that shop- bought vegetables don’t have,” the author explains, “they are something new and different, valuable and palatable that is worth getting to know.” Another advantage is their presence throughout Italy: “between one region and another there are different herbs, but also the same plant with different names,” Mina Novello continues. “The dialectal, popular name is sometimes misleading, but the peasant tradition of gathering wild herbs exists everywhere.” Moreno Cedroni ’s eyes light up when he talks about his foraging ‘excursions’ in the hills behind the bistellato Madonnina del Pescatore in Senigallia. “We harvest mustard and lots of nettle, borage, the blue flowers are magnificent”. Foraging cannot be improvised, but neither is it so strange: aren’t all the ingredients used in cooking fruits of nature? “One day, while playing golf, I saw a Laetiporus sulphureus (mushroom also known as chicken-of-the-woods), after I had cleaned one the day before at work. It was an epiphany: I realised that wild ingredients were not crazy and unattainable things, you just had to be in the right place at the right time,” said Alan Bergo , American chef and author of The Forager Chef’s Book of Flora. So what? Ready and go! HOW TO START “Knowledge of wild herbs comes through experience,” Novello explains, “one can also rely on books, but it is one thing to see a static photograph taken at a certain time of year, quite another to see a herb in real life. Indeed, they should be observed in two seasons: in spring, when they are ready to be harvested, and later when they flower”. The important thing when approaching these types of harvests is not to expect to learn to recognise them all straight away: ‘better to start with four or five plants, to avoid problems”. Perhaps choosing those locally, which are often present in even the most typical recipes. “I look for clean and unspoilt places, a bit out of the way, away from busy roads and paths, even in the mountains. Respect for the locals is essential, there is an ethic to follow: you harvest in uncultivated meadows, with respect for nature and people, you don’t do a massive harvest, it is important not to uproot. And, if you are in a private place, you ask permission”. HERBS IN THE KITCHEN How do you use wild herbs in the kitchen? “They are not the absolute theme, they could never sustain a complete menu for the whole year,” says Susigan, “both for harvesting and for the menu it is carpe diem; it is important to have dishes on the menu that can be made in the short period when the herbs come up: during the year I change the menu every two months, in spring every 15 days. The herbs are there for a moment and then they disappear, by now I have a series of dishes that are only right for that moment”. After harvesting, there is a whole process to follow: “once at home, the herbs are chosen, washed - very thoroughly, even three passes in water or more - some also need to be disinfected with amuchina, e.g. spring cress because it may have grown downstream from a farm that can pollute the water. They are centrifuged, placed in the middle of a cloth and placed in the refrigerator at 4-6° C: they keep for up to 10 days in this way. An exception is watercress, which turns yellow after a few days. It is all a lot of work, but we do it with pleasure because it is a peculiarity of our cuisine”. NOT ALL ARE GOOD Knowledge of herbs is essential, as is the collection of mushrooms. “Extremely toxic herbs are few,” Novello says, “hemlock is not so widespread, but there are some problematic ones such as hellebore, a small plant that sprouts luxuriantly in the undergrowth in spring and is toxic, and colchicum, which has caused even fatal poisonings. Others, such as phytolacca, can cause serious problems for those suffering from particular diseases”. In short, the rule applies that you should only trust plants that you know well. “The approach must be by people who are, if not experts, informed: it is good the first few times to be accompanied by someone who knows them”. Mariangela Susigan Mina Novello