Wild About - Evening Primrose Root (Evening Primrose Root Gratin and Mock Horseradish)

Autumn has slipped in the back door, and it's time to explore the more mysterious side of plants - it's time to go underground. When leaves have been stolen away by frost, it is the ideal time to harvest roots.

All parts of the evening primrose (Oenothera villosa here, Oesnothera biennis in most places) are edible. If you want to harvest the root, first look for the long dried stalk and its tell-tale seed pods, which started out at brilliant yellow flowers in the summer. See it? Good, but that's not the one you want.


Look down.

Evening primrose is a biennial, and only flowers in it's second year. Those stalks have sent all of their energy into the flowers, and their roots are tough and not good for eating (trust me, I tried). But look down, and you'll see the rosette of first-year leaves (which are slightly fuzzy and have a almost glowing reflective white mid-rib) close to the ground, with no flower stalk. Those are the ones you want to dig for roots. For the bet flavor, wait until it has frosted several times and the ground has gone cold before digging evening primrose root. Before that time, the roots can be unpleasantly spicy. Some even report a tingling/burning sensation when eating them.

Common evening primrose root has a delightfully peppery tasty, like a strong turnip, so keep that in mind when you go to prepare it. The tastiest way that I've eaten evening primrose roots is by mixing them with potatoes, both parboiled, and cooking 'em up with cream and cheese in a gratin. The potatoes help to temper the potency of the evening primrose roots, without masking their flavor.

Also good was thin strips of evening primrose root dipped into a wet batter and fried. Mmmm, fried food.

I've also grated some evening primrose root, and mixed it with vinegar, salt, and honey, in an attempt to make it into a mock horseradish. Even though my first attempt was a little too vinegary, it was still fantastic on elk. I'm thinking that this condiment would be good mixed with mayo and worked into some sushi rolls. What do you think?

This post is my entry into the Hearth and Soul hop, Real Food Wednesday, and Real Food Deals. Please follow the links and support other real food bloggers.