The Chef: Ian Rossman (Frog N Snail)The Challenger: Dave Ford (the Bluebird)The Ingredient: Cattails
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While almost all the parts of the cattail plant are edible in certain seasons, Rossman was challenged specifically with the flower spike, the immature corn-dog-shaped seed head for which the plant is named. The young shoots, also known as “Cossack asparagus,” can be peeled and eaten raw, steamed, or sauteed. As the plant matures, the developing flower spike is often eaten like corn on the cob; later in the season, the flower produces pollen that can be collected and used as a flour substitute. The roots of the cattail, which are high in starch and can be processed to make flour, may be their most useful edible part. A study in the 1970s showed that one acre of cattails can produce about 32 tons of flour per year, and there are reports that the U.S. was making plans to start feeding soldiers with cattail flour when World War II ended.
When he first heard about the challenge, Rossman said, he had a ton of ideas for what to do with the cattails. But “once I tasted it for the first time I just threw ’em all out.”
Video by Michael Gebert/Sky Full of Bacon
Tasting the dish, Rossman said that the cattail “definitely comes out in the sauce—you get this richness, and it’s not the pork. It’s a very different flavor . . . the dish is really rich and really fresh-tasting at the same time.”
Pickle blueberries and fennel stalk in sherry vinegar with sugar, salt, and cattail.
