Steemit Iron Chef #06: Eggplant and Cattail Fluff Tiny Bites

in #steemit-ironchef7 years ago (edited)

Eggplant and the fluff from cattails? Can that even be edible? I'm not joking! Come into my post for some wild food - literally and figuratively!

x eggplant cattail fluff bites 1.jpg


Who Says Cattail Fluff Is Edible?

People often ask how I know so many edible plants. I put in a lot of effort to study and learn -- and experiment. I don't just go out and start trying any wild plants. I look for the experience that other people have. And I'm willing to be surprised -- pleasantly or otherwise.

I've been skeptical about eating cattail fluff - the soft, fluffy seeds from mature cattail heads. They've been used for ages for stuffing mattresses and pillows, but they don't seem any more edible than the insides of a sofa cushion! I stand corrected now - and appreciate them as food, too.

I ran across a YouTube video, where The Last Grownup in the Woods made some interesting cattail fluff muffins - that she ultimately did not enjoy. Then I found an article by Erin Froehlich, who discovered a tasty meat substitute from the cattail fluff. But that wasn't enough to convince me.

x cattail heads.jpg

Then, I found a Facebook post recounting a cooking class they took at the Leech Lake Tribal College in Minnesota. In that class, an archeological field director with the Chippewa National Forest, Matt Mattson, had taught everyone to make Cattail Fluff Griddlecakes. He used a traditional tribal recipe, with natural leavening provided by campfire ashes. I further discovered that this class has been taught for several years. That's the evidence I needed!

So many cultures have unique food traditions. I'm willing to try most any of them. They can be a great source for learning how to use wild foods. I was convinced -- and ready to try my own experiment!


Cooking With Eggplant and Cattail Fluff

I like to eat eggplant! One of my favorite ways of cooking eggplant is to slowly roast it in an oven. That brings out all the sweetness, even in older eggplant, like you might find in a typical grocery store. It makes the eggplant so soft -- with a texture that bothers some people.

So it seemed like a natural pairing to mix the soft, sweet, gooey roasted eggplant with the slightly nutty, dry fluffiness of cattail fluff. Based on the recipes I reviewed, I decided to mix the two in a food processor, so the cattail fluff would be more thoroughly mixed in with the eggplant.

x eggplant cattail fluff bites 2.jpg
Left: Mixing roasted eggplant and cattail fluff in the food processor. Top right: eggplant and cattail fluff mix. Bottom right: dusting the eggplant-cattail fluff tiny bite in flour.

I didn't want to dilute the flavors of either the eggplant or the cattail fluff. So I didn't want to add eggs, herbs or spices, or flour to the mixture to make it more thick for cooking. So I simply rolled small balls of the mixture in flour and then cooked them in a little olive oil. I served them on small pieces of homegrown kale, with a slice of a homegrown Juliet cherry tomato and a honey-mustard sauce.


A Taste Test Review

So how did these "tiny bites" taste? Surprisingly good! They are really good when they are piping hot. I ate a lot of these in putting together this one plate, so I know their taste holds up well when they are hot. They are less good when they have cooled off -- the cattail fluff got more chewy.

x eggplant cattail fluff bites 3.jpg

I also put a layer of the mixture in an oiled casserole dish, baked it in the oven at 350F degrees for about 30 minutes, and used that as a sandwich filling. I'll admit, that was too much eggplant and cattail fluff!

x eggplant cattail fluff bites 5.jpg

Will I try cooking with Cattail fluff again? Now that the Steemit Iron Chef Eggplant experience is over, I do want to try cattail fluff again. I'll try the Leech Lake tribe's recipe and I'll try the fake meat recipe, too. Then I'll be able to report back whether I think it's worth eating cattail fluff. But I do know I will always enjoy roasted eggplant!

x eggplant cattail fluff bites 4.jpg


What Do You Think?

  • Do you like to eat eggplant?
  • Have you eaten any part of cattails?
  • Would you try my eggplant-cattail fluff tiny bites?
  • What recipe would you use to experiment with eating cattail fluff?

I eat a lot of wild plants and show you how, because I believe that we can all have lives that are richer, more secure, more grounded, and more interesting by getting to know the plants and the land around us – in our yards, our parks, and our wild places.

I would like Steemit to be the premier site for Foraging on the Internet! If you have any thoughts about foraging, or experiences to share, write a post and be sure to use the Foraging tag. And check out the @foraging-trail to see curated quality posts about foraging. Happy Foraging!

Thanks @progressivechef for creating the Steemit Iron Chef contest series. I haven't been able to be on Steemit much lately, but I can't miss the contest series or I would miss out on my 1 point! ;D


Wild Plant List

  • Cattail - Typha latifolia - fluff from mature seedheads

Haphazard Homestead

foraging, gardening, nature, simple living close to the land

All content is 100% Haphazard Homestead!
My YouTube channel: Haphazard Homestead

Sort:  

Definitely looks wild! But your posts are always inspiring to become more self-sufficient.

Yeah, this entry was a definite wild experiment! But I couldn't stop myself, lol. It was like an obsession -- eggplant, cattail fluff, eggplant, cattail fluff -- they both kept calling to me.

Wow, totally impressed by your knowledge of the cat tail heads! Such an interesting and tasty recipe, good job :-)

Thanks. I know a lot more about cattail heads after this week, that's for sure. I've used them as fire starting material and to stuff pillows. But I never tried eating them until I found those 3 examples - especially the one from the Tribal College, using the fluff as a traditional food. I have a lot more experimentation to do, before I will feel like I really know the cattail heads.

As always interesting and I learned something new Cattail flufff..... Thank you

Glad you enjoyed my post. With wild food, I'm always learning, too. That's one thing I really like about foraging. There's so much to try out.

You are one amazing woman. I can't even handle that you made a point to make cattail fluff an ingredient in your eggplant dish, but at how much research you put into understanding the culinary (and upholstery) limits of the fluff. I kid you not, I just this evening let my kids each choose one cattail to take from the park nearby and they used them as 'walking sticks'. Walking sticks or yummy treats in moderation, I'll take it! I am in awe of you!

THanks for those kind words. Compared to lutefisk or Limberger cheese, I guess cattail fluff is a pretty moderate thing to eat, lol. It's so fascinating what people think is worth eating or what is too strange. I wouldn't recommend taking your kids' cattail walking sticks and slathering it in Nacho cheese sauce -- although.... ; )

Interesting dish! I haven't ever heard that the cattail fluff Is edible. Great discovery! ;)

I was skeptical. I've eaten a lot of other parts of cattails and they are good. But the fluff doesn't seem like it's edible, at all! So I was surprised to find that some people do eat it. And then I wanted to try to eat some myself!

That's really great about you! ;)

You cease to amaze me with all your foraging recipe ideas. Who knew you could eat a cattail. wow

Woww..cattail fluff!! An unusual name to be seen on a food post for me =D

Your knowledge and research-over-random-experimentation method is applaudable..Me? I'll just trust you...I'll have one of those cutie bites straight from the pan, please =)

Another discovery for me here thanks to your knowledge my friend! I really never knew about cat tails being edible, I remember seeing these in the wild! I will follow up your next experiment on these for sure, as it really intrigue me a lot!
I will of course have a try on your dish my friend, you are such a great cook!

Some how I missed this entry when I was looking at all the eggplant dishes. It looks really good! I would like to try cattails. I have read that the entire cattail is edible and the roots are a great source of starch. I have never eaten cattails but they do grow near where I live.

Congratulations @haphazard-hstead! You have completed some achievement on Steemit and have been rewarded with new badge(s) :

Award for the number of comments

Click on any badge to view your own Board of Honor on SteemitBoard.
For more information about SteemitBoard, click here

If you no longer want to receive notifications, reply to this comment with the word STOP

By upvoting this notification, you can help all Steemit users. Learn how here!

Coin Marketplace

STEEM 0.16
TRX 0.15
JST 0.028
BTC 54483.11
ETH 2297.01
USDT 1.00
SBD 2.28