For descendants of the original inhabitants of this great region, the First Salmon feast is now underway. Gathered, prepared, and served with this royal fish is a water plant rhizome called arrowhead. Wife and partner Marlene and I first tasted the roasted root of the arrowhead plant at a Spring Root celebration with artist and friend Lillian Pitt at the ceremony for the people of Warm Springs. The nut-like flavor with the texture of sunchokes is at once unique and most satisfying. Nutritionally speaking, arrowhead contributes significantly less carbs than potatoes and has nutrients and qualities that migrant domestic crops do not possess. My son and partner Zoey and I have managed to winter over our second crop of domesticated arrowhead (Saggitara latifolia). This was our successful attempt to discover growing conditions for arrowhead as a food crop. In addition to our kitchen garden greenhouse, family friend and master gardener Joy Pruitt provided a site in Lake Oswego for our experimental crops.
Also commonly called wapato, the rhizomes of the plant have been eaten for centuries by folk here in the Columbia River and Willamette River basins prior to the introduction of potatoes and other Old World starchy food alternatives. With mass migration into the region and the ensuing industrialization, wapato was displaced by grazing domesticated animals and its habitat was polluted by industrial waste. In spite of our local government's collaboration with the United State's Superfund efforts for clean-up at sites in the immediate Portland area, the land has not been cleansed of toxins to a level that could warrant harvesting of healthful, edible root stock. Ironically, wapato may well be the healing solution necessary to save itself. Used for decades by environmentalists to 'reclaim' the lands saturated with light toxins, the process of clean-up and renewal is facilitated by the wapato plants natural filtering mechanism. Once pollutants have been mandated to be eliminated or diminished by industrial producers, wapato is planted adjacent to the sites. Within a few years in some instances, the toxin laden wapato is replaced with fresh root stock providing a safe harbor for rehabilitation to begin.
I am of the mind to grow this local and delicious potato alternative for market. We have conducted extensive research on the matter since 1996. Efforts include a test pond planted in Washington D.C. under the direction of landscape architect Johnpaul Jones on the grounds of the National Museum of the American Indian. Along with many other indigenous food crops of the region, the wapato has flourished there. We have since grown subsequent crops and are developing plans for a commercial production facility.
We have been serving wapato to a receptive crowd since 1986 where, after presenting it to my guests and mastering its preparation, it was presented in a warm salad to accompany salmon at the American Seafood Challenge garnering a championship crown and gold medal for me in Oregon then, subsequently, Washington State. We presented wapato as an Ark food for Slow Food Iternational's Salone del Gusto and to dignitaries by invitation in Italy's Etruscan region. Presentations wapato's versatility have been made to foodies in Kyoto and Tokyo Japan, and continue here in our region to traveling food writers from throughout the planet - all with a concerted and favorable response. We believe that wapato, like so many other overlooked indigenous foods, presents the foundation for a truely regional cuisine.
 |
| Wind River Steelhead with its Roe, flavored with sumac and Oregon Mountain Mahogany. Accompanied by roasted wapato (in foreground), camas root, cress and hazlenut oil |
Along with many other indigenous food crops of the region, the wapato has flourished there. We have since grown subsequent crops and are developing plans for a commercial production facility. native wetland plants
ReplyDelete