The first arrival of tubers in the farmers’ market brings rejoicing (oh, new crop potatoes—Hallelujah) but no urgency; the point of roots, after all, is that they’re durable enough to keep well, so they’ll be almost as good in a month as they are when first harvested. But there’s one odd little vegetable worth snapping up as soon as it appears, since it’s only in season about a month, and doesn’t store well.
Crosnes (Stachys affinis) are a member of the mint family native to China. They’re grown for their funny-looking tubers which look, rather unpromisingly, like little white worms extruded from a mold. But pop one in your mouth—they’re edible raw, right off the farm stand, if they’re clean—and you’ll see the appeal. They’re crisp and crunchy, earthy and sweet, like quince masquerading a vegetable.
"Butter sluts" is what Odessa Piper calls them. At L’Etoile she taught me to sauté them in more than enough butter until they just loose their raw starchiness, then serve beside something unctuous like a well-braised piece of meat. At home I use less butter or even blanch them in boiling water to emphasize their crispness. A small plate of them make a great pre-dinner snack, happily eaten with fingers, and one that few guests have seen before. For my next trick, though, I’m going to follow up on a suggestion in the Elizabeth Schneider’s “Vegetables from Amaranth to Zuchini” and pickle them, as is common in Japan. A little rice wine vinegar, a little salt and sugar, and maybe some shiso or lemon verbena, and I’ll have a perfect hors d’oeuvre to help combat the relentless richness of the long Thanksgiving weekend.
Mountain Sweet Berry Farm should have crosnes for a couple more weeks at the New York Greenmarket.
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