Foraging sometimes doesn't need to be far.
Slippery Elm is a type of ornamental tree that is commonly planted along road sides or in parks in the cities. Starting from mid spring, elm trees will be loaded with clusters of samaras, the papery green fruits.
To harvest the samaras, you just need to gently hold down the branches and slide the fruits towards the end of the branch. The papery fruits usually have a brown tip at the end. If you bother to remove them for a better texture, just like I do, please go ahead. Otherwise, they taste the same with or without the brown tips.
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| The papery looking skin has a texture similar to white potato skin. |
Elm samaras can be eaten raw, and they taste like raw sweet peas. I use them for salad a lot, since I can get them just outside my building. On the way home from work, I usually get a handful of them to sprinkle on my creamy corn salad, that I name "April elm salad"
April Elm Salad
(Ingredients):
1 handful of Elm Samaras
1 cup Fresh Sweet Corn kernels
2 Crab Sticks
2 tablespoons Japanese Mayo
Salt to taste
How to make:
1. Rinse the elm samaras; remove the brown tips if you want.
2. Blanch crab sticks in boiling water for two minutes; drain. Cut it into bite size. Set aside.
3. Add the corn kernels in the boiling water and boil them until cooked; it's about 4-5 minutes. Drain the corn well.
4. In a mixing bowl, mix together all ingredients including the elm samaras. Season with salt. Serve.
The young elm leaves are also edible raw and are delicious to add into sushi with other vegetables.
Elm Vegetarian Sushi
Ingredients:
1 pc Nori Sheet
1 bowl Cooked Rice, warm
A hand of elm samara and young leaves
Carrot, cut in long sticks
Japanese Mayonnaise
How to make:
1. On one end of the nori, add a half portion of rice. Place carrot, elm, and mayonnaise on top of the rice. Roll up the nori, then firmly squeeze to shape into a solid round roll. Cut it into equal size pieces and serve.
