Edgelands Research — St. Louis Spring Ephemeral Dinner

A dinner with ingredients foraged from St. Louis city and surrounding forests. The menu was inspired by spring ephemerals; woodland plants with unique flavors that blanket the St. Louis forests for a short window of ideal temperature in early spring. Driven by the historical and contemporary challenges faced by the St. Louis ecoregion, dinner conversation touched on the intersections of water, industry and food access among urban growth and decay cycles. For more information about our foraged dinners, see our most recent Dinner for the Changing Seasons.

Dinner Menu:

• Spring ephemeral salad w/ Vinaigrette
  Cutleaf Toothwort, Spring Beauty, Trout Lily, Oxalis
  
  
• Morel Dumplings on Ramp Leaves
  Morel, Ramps
  
  
• Wild-Fermented Pickles
  Japanese Knotweed, Magnolia Blossom
  
  
• Maitake Turnip Cake
  Hen-of-the-woods, Stinging Nettle pesto, pickled Magnolia blossom
  
  
• Tempura Vegetables
  Lotus root, Wild Onion, Stinging Nettle, Morel
  
  
• Steamed Bluebell Bitter Greens
  Bluebells
  
  
• Creme Brulee
  Shagbark Hickory smoke & syrup
  
  
• Foraged Amaro
  Spicebush, Hickory, Sassafras, Lilac, Violet, Magnolia, Nettle, Redbud, Knotweed, Dandelion, Juniper, Spruce