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| Nettle and Goat Cheese Briouattes |
Introduction:
For
a very long time now, languages have been a big part of my life and very dear
to me. I started learning French in middle school about 10 years ago for pretty
superficial reasons. No one that I really knew spoke a second language, and at
the time I felt like Spanish was too mainstream. So, being the hip,
trend-setting 13-year-old that I was, I decided that it was a great idea to be
super original and learn French. In all sincerity, I discovered a passion for
languages that I didn’t even know I had and which would influence me in big
ways throughout my life.
Fast-forward
10 years and here I am with a BA degree in Modern Languages and Literature (specifically
French and Arabic) living, studying, and working in Germany and of course
learning German in doing so. 13-year-old me would be proud to see that I now
speak four languages (albeit, to varying degrees); and little did he know that
languages, not unlike tattoos and roast chicken flavored potato chips, are
addictive and as soon as you acquire one, all you want is to have more.
However,
my hands down favorite thing about languages and learning languages is idioms. There’s
nothing better than adding fun sayings to your repertoire that you can use when
needing to express something so specific yet so accurately that the listener
understands exactly what you mean after just one idiom. Perhaps you
avoid hanging out with someone because in Arabic they have heavy blood; or
maybe they’ve done something in the past, and now you are a scalded cat that
fears cold water in French (happy Google searching to find out what both of
those mean). But one of my favorite sayings of all time – and one that brings
all of this back around to wild, foraged food (WFF) – is the German expression,
“sich in die Nesseln setzen” or “to sit in the nettles”; which is what you say
when you’ve done something to put yourself in a difficult/unpleasant situation.
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| Nettles (Urtica dioica) |
For
those of you who are not familiar with nettles, you are in luck; because this
week we will be delving into this WFF that is absolutely delicious but takes a
little finesse to work with safely. But fear not, because you will be itching
for recipes with nettles. By the end of this post, you’ll go out and forage
for so many nettles that you’ll be bursting at the seams with them! It
will be the rashest culinary craze that you’ve had in a while!
…nettles
can sting. So you need to be careful and read this post. Speaking of bad great puns and this entire introduction about
languages and idioms, we will also be discussing about how WFF knowledge influences
language and vice versa by investigating idioms about WFF and the revealing
aspects of WFF nomenclature. But before we sit ourselves too deep in the
nettles, let’s get to know them a little better.
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Foraging:
In
the Field
There are a couple different types of nettles within the species
(Urtica dioica), and not all will sting you. However, I find that stinging
nettles are vastly more common and accessible than other kinds, so for all
intents and purposes of this post, I will refer to stinging nettles simply as
“nettles”. As for their season, nettles are one of the first things to pop up
in the spring, and in Heidelberg they are absolutely everywhere. They can
easily be found in residential areas that aren’t too manicured, and so you
don’t even need to go into the mountains to look for them if you don’t feel
like it.
Similar to the case before with
blackberries, proper equipment is a must. However, whereas blackberry bushes
are thorny and can scrape you, nettles are rather hairy, and these hairs
covering all parts of the plant are what will sting you. When these hairs brush
up against your skin, that is when this sharp stinging sensation occurs, and
the area of the skin can become enflamed and develop welts. It’s no fun to
accidentally brush up against nettles, and I can only imagine that putting them
in your mouth is equally horrible. Therefore, before going out to forage for
nettles, be sure to bring a pair of gardening gloves and long pants. Neither of
these things need to be especially sturdy; you just need a layer of protection
between your skin and nettles.
Now that you have been thoroughly warned
and have outfitted yourself with the proper equipment to forage for nettles
safely, I have to mention one intriguing exception. Although the leaves (the
edible part that you want to collect) also have these tiny hairs that coat
their surface, I have found that they actually don’t sting like the hairs all
along the stem of the plant. Although many sources will say that you have to
cook nettles before they are edible, I found plenty of salad recipes that are
made from raw nettle leaves. Wanting to get to the bottom of this to be the
best informant I can be, I sacrificed my hands and trachea and tasted a nettle
leaf raw in the field. Sure enough, the leave had no stinging effect on my bare
hands and my mouth and throat didn’t swell up with irritation when I ate it raw.
So I see only two possible possibilities as to why this could be so. Either I
am a superhuman of an especially advanced race that is immune to nettle leaf
stings; or nettle leaves are harmless. I’ll let you decide which possibility is
the most plausible, and you can adjust your nettle consuming practices
accordingly. In any case, I still advise to wear gloves and long pants because
even my superhuman titanium skin is sensitive to the stings from the plants stems
which you inevitably have to touch when harvesting the leaves. Also, to double
down on safety, the recipe this week (Nettle and Goat Cheese Briouattes)
involves cooked nettles, not raw ones. That said, when harvesting the leaves,
be sure to pick of any large bits of stem that still may be attached. This
isn’t completely necessary if you are planning on cooking the nettles anyway,
but it makes processing them in the kitchen a lot easier when you don’t have to
worry about those bits stinging you as you wash them, cook them, chop them,
etc. Now is also a good time to mention that nettles behave very similarly in
the kitchen to spinach, meaning that they lose a lot of water and will shrink
exponentially when cooked. Therefore, when foraging for nettles, you want to
harvest quite a bit. About 3-4 times as much as you intend to have as a
finished product. For this recipe, I filled up a cloth grocery bag’s worth and
it was the perfect amount to render about 50 g of cooked, drained nettles.
In the Kitchen
Speaking
of recipes and cooking, let’s talk about nettles in the kitchen. Once you’ve
filled up a cloth grocery bag’s worth of nettles, it’s time to bring them to
the kitchen and process them for whatever recipe that involves cooked nettles.
As with any produce but especially foraged ingredients, it is very important to
begin by washing the nettles thoroughly. While you are washing the nettles,
boil a pot of water. Now that the nettles are nice and washed, you have a
decision to make regarding that pot of boiling water. To cook the nettles, you
have two options: boiling or steaming. I prefer to steam for many reasons; you
only need to bring a few centimeters of water to a boil versus an entire pot;
you can steam in batches, meaning you don’t have to drain all the water and
reboil another pot if you are working with a lot of nettles; the nettles won’t
overcook as easily; and the flavor and nutrition of the nettles stays in them
when steamed, as opposed to seeping into the water when boiling. If you don’t
have any apparatus to steam in, I highly suggest you buy one/make a DIY one;
but for now, boiling is also a fine option if you cannot steam.
In either case, nettles don’t take that
long to cook. A batch of nettles takes not even 5 minutes to just barely wilt
down; so keep your eye on them and give them a toss every now and then to steam
evenly. At that point, you can remove and rinse them immediately under cold
water to stop the cooking process and preserve the color. Once you have your
cooked but cool to the touch nettles, you need to drain the excess water from
them. Simply use your hands to gather and squeeze the nettles into a tight ball
and drain any moisture. At this point, you give the shriveled nettle-ball a
rough chop, and the nettles are ready to go for whatever recipe that calls for
cooked greens of some sort. You can throw them into a soup, mix them into a
sauce or dip, or use them in a filling like we will do with the recipe this
week. Apart from their earthy and delicious flavor, nettles are unsurprisingly
very nutritious and versatile enough to be added to nearly any dish.
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Language and
WFF Knowledge:
After
this foraging crash course, we are now well acquainted with nettles and know
how to handle this tasty, prolific, and versatile WFF so that we don’t end up
sitting in the nettles. However, before I introduce the recipe for this week, I
want to discuss the role of language in the production and dissemination of WFF
knowledge. As promised, this section will investigate idioms involving WFF and
how the nomenclature of WFF reveals certain aspects of knowledge transmission. These
two ways in which language influences WFF knowledge and vice versa are
expressed in ethnobotanical surveys taken in Morocco, Sardinia, the Iberian
Peninsula, and the Yunnan Province of China. Upon analyzing these studies, we
will see how the language(s) of a certain locale are intertwined with and
affect the knowledge about WFF that is produced and circulated therein.
Local Proverbs
and Sayings
We
will first focus on the incorporation of WFF into local proverbs. Such
linguistic expressions are revealing not only because they show how the
language of a community reflects their WFF knowledge, but also because these
proverbs in turn influence the interlocutors’ experience and perception of WFF
knowledge. In this way, the interaction of WFF knowledge and language is not a
one-way street, but the two influence each other in distinct ways.
To
give an example, the study in Morocco discussed the existence of both positive and
negative attitudes towards certain WFF among several different villages. They
report that informants in one village expressed very negative attitudes
regarding one WFF with a local proverb that states “If a child eats too much
bakola [the general word for WFF] when he is small he will not learn to speak
(because bakola is meant for animals and animals don’t speak)”[1]. Although
short, significant insight regarding this local knowledge system can be deduced
from this proverb. It shows that this strong negative perception of WFF is
reinforced by the locally validated knowledge that WFF is for speechless
animals and therefore should not be consumed by small children who are learning
to speak[2].
From this, a local proverb is crafted to accurately and conveniently express
the dangers attributed to WFF, and a clear influence on the community’s
language from their WFF knowledge is established.
However,
this influence is not merely a one-way exchange between WFF knowledge and
language. Although many people in the village most likely do not have personal
experience with children being handicapped due to eating WFF at a young age,
they are indeed familiar with this proverb that warns them of such an
occurrence. As a result, locals curbed their practices of gathering and
consuming WFF in this particular village to avoid what this proverb expresses.
Thus, we see how language in this case influenced the locals’ foraging
practices and performance of WFF knowledge. Therefore, not only is this
negative perception of WFF reinforced by the locally validated knowledge of WFF
hindering children’s speech, but it is also reinforced by the very proverb
created to perpetuate it.
A
very similar situation can be found in the study executed in the Iberian
Peninsula. In Piloña, Spain, there exists a local saying that translates as
“She/he ate Rorippa nasturtium-aquaticum” and refers to starving[3].
This particular WFF was consumed widely during periods of scarcity, especially
during and after the civil war from 1936-1939[4].
As such, negative associations are attributed to this species in particular. As
a result, the study found that Piloña is the only site of the six regions
investigated where this plant was not consumed, even though it was one of the
most important wild vegetable species in Spain as a whole[5].
Like
the Moroccan example, this exhibits the interplay between language and WFF
knowledge. Local sayings are created from preexisting perceptions of WFF; but
in turn, these linguistic expressions reinforce the attitudes that created
them. As a result, these sayings affect peoples’ practices and performances of
WFF knowledge. We can even infer that if individuals do not partake in foraging
due to negative attitudes perpetuated by local sayings, then their knowledge of
these WFF may suffer as a consequence. In this way, we see how WFF knowledge
and language are intertwined and influence one another.
Nomenclature
Although
there exists plenty fun proverbs that reveal influences between the language of
a certain site and its WFF knowledge[6], they
are not the only linguistic phenomenon that links language and WFF knowledge. The
next few examples will show how nomenclature provides insight into locally
validated knowledge and specifically how it is transmitted. These processes of
a locale’s nomenclature of WFF further testify to the interplay between
language and WFF knowledge.
In
many ethnobotanical studies, the researchers draw a distinction between the scientific
taxonomy of plants and what is often referred to as “ethnospecies”[7]. Essentially,
this term refers to the local name used to identify “a single type of plant by
the people who use them”[8].
This form of nomenclature often does not directly correspond to the scientific
taxonomy (formatted as: Genus species). For example, in a survey taken in
Sardinia, 19% of the local names for WFF that they recorded each referred to
more than one botanical species and sometimes of a completely different
botanical genera or family[9]. Therefore,
in cases like this, there are often a larger number of scientific, taxonomical
species than ethnospecies in a given site since a single ethnospecies may refer
to more than one botanical species.
This
ethnospecies system of nomenclature once again reveals the local validation of
WFF knowledge. Although the official “Genus species” format of taxonomy is
considered to be the most accurate and perhaps the truest form of nomenclature
in scientific circles, this entirely distinct form of nomenclature that
produces ethnospecies reveals that this official, scientific taxonomy is less
important for the people who are dealing with WFF in a certain locale. In any
given site, considering what may be three separate botanical species as a
single ethnospecies with one name can be locally validated knowledge. Thus, we
see how nomenclature – via the establishment of ethnospecies – testifies to a
local WFF knowledge that differs from what is officially recognized in
scientific circles as well as other locales.
In
addition to ethnospecies attesting to locally validated knowledge, scrutinizing
nomenclature also reveals how this knowledge is transmitted. For example, an
ethnobotanical study conducted in the Yunnan province of China found that
whether or not a WFF had a local name was “helpful in recognizing the knowledge
transmission pathways”[10].
A WFF that has a name in the local Naxi language indicates “prolonged
consumption history” and that the knowledge of it is most likely indigenous to
the locale[11].
However, certain WFF have no Naxi name but instead names in other minority
languages or Mandarin[12].
Thus, “this indicates that Naxi people may [have learned] to use them from the
Han Chinese as well as other minorities”[13]. From
where this knowledge of certain WFF was transmitted to the Naxi can therefore
be clarified via investigating the nomenclature of these WFF.
In
the Moroccan study previously mentioned, the researchers were also able to find
a link between economic exchange and knowledge transmission when investigating
the nomenclature of WFF. They noticed stark variations in local names depending
on which village or region they were analyzing[14].
For example, the name of a single WFF may differ completely between villages of
the same region or even among the same village[15].
However, they discovered that “groups with historical trade relations shared
greater similarity in plant names than groups which were geographically closer
to each other but who had not traded with each other”[16]. This
serves as linguistic evidence that “plant knowledge and nomenclature were
exchanged along trade networks in addition to plant material”[17]. Thus,
by examining a common thread in the nomenclature, researchers were able to
identify trade networks and market spaces where WFF knowledge was disseminated.
With
these examples from Sardinia, the Yunnan province, and Morocco, we see how
nomenclature reveals certain aspects of WFF knowledge systems. Ethnospecies
testify to WFF knowledge’s situatedness in that what is locally validated often
differs from official scientific authority as well as from other sites.
Meanwhile, nomenclature points to how WFF knowledge is transmitted, and with
its help we can identify specific networks of exchange in which this knowledge disseminates.
These examples further testify to the intertwinement of language and WFF and
also how they influence each other; since establishing ethnospecies validates certain
knowledge over others and at the same time the transmission pathways of WFF
knowledge result in the local names of WFF in a given site.
Conclusion
After
analyzing these sites of WFF knowledge, we have discovered that idioms
involving WFF are more valuable than purely being fun sayings to spice up your
linguistic repertoire. They reveal how a community’s WFF knowledge affects
their own experiences and shapes their attitudes which are in turn expressed
linguistically via these sayings. However, the persistent use of these sayings
reinforces negative attitudes of WFF knowledge which result in a decline of
performing WFF knowledge and potentially a general loss of WFF knowledge. In
addition to proverbs and sayings, nomenclature further reveals the intertwined
relationship between language and WFF knowledge. Establishing ethnospecies can
be seen as a way to locally validate WFF knowledge, and scrutinizing local
names for WFF helps to trace the networks in which this knowledge is
transmitted. Finally, both cases – proverbs and nomenclature – testify to a
peculiar mutual influence between language and WFF knowledge by which both
affect and reinforce the other. In this way, we see once again the situatedness
of WFF knowledge and how language is an important social factor of a locale that
affects how WFF knowledge is produced and disseminated.
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Sites of Forage
Recipe:
Nettle and Goat
Cheese Briouattes
Maybe
you call them briouattes, maybe you call them samosas or sambusas; in this case,
nomenclature isn’t so important. What is important is that they are crispy
golden pockets with tasty fillings. I tasted them for the first time in
Morocco, where they are called briouattes (بريوات) and made them for the
first time with Moroccans. So, for me they are briouattes, but you go ahead and
call them whatever you want. Except puffy pancake cloud, that’s taken already
(please see the post “Age and WFF Knowledge” for more information on the etymology
of puffy pancake cloud).
There
are infinite different kinds of briouattes since the possibilities for fillings
are endless in both the sweet and savory spectrums. But essentially the method
is the same for all; wrap small amounts of filling in strips of thin pastry and
bake or fry until crispy. If baking, the strips of pastry must be oiled before
wrapped around the filling and baked so that the layers will become crispy.
However, if frying, this step is unnecessary. Although it is more active work
to oil the strips of pastry, I prefer this method to frying because it is less
messy, you can cook more at a time, and the results are identical to the fried
version. Also, potentially healthier and absorb less oil? I’m no scientist, but
sure, let’s say they’re healthier so that we can eat more without the guilt.
How does that old proverb go? You can have your briouattes and eat them too?
I’m pretty sure Marie-Antoinette said that verbatim.
Anyway,
as for the pastry itself, briouattes are traditionally made with an ultra-thin
pastry called warqa (ورقة).
If you can find warqa outside of Morocco, congratulations on being a wizard,
I’m super jealous and afraid of you. For the rest of us who can’t, phyllo dough
(sometimes spelled “filo dough”) is always a trusty replacement to get those
crispy thin layers.
There are also multiple styles to
wrap briouattes which produce different shapes. Sometimes you see them in the form
of a cigar, other times a right-angle triangle. However, I feel like the shape
I see the most often is an equilateral triangle shape. I also find these to be
the prettiest, so that is the shape that will be demonstrated in this recipe.
But feel free to get creative and experiment with different shapes. Try your
hand at the cigars, right-angle triangles, double helix, pterodactyl…the possibilities
are endless!
These briouattes incorporate the cooked
nettles described earlier as well as goat cheese for a delicious, vegetarian
filling and make great snacks, hors d’oeuvres, or even a light meal in the
summertime when served alongside a salad. They are delicious just as they are,
but can be dressed up even more with dipping sauces like an herb chutney or a puree
of roasted peppers.
Ingredients:
For the filling:
100 g goat cheese, soft and smearable (such as chevre)
50 g feta cheese
50 g nettles, cooked and drained
½ onion, minced
½ tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
For the pastry:
3 sheets phyllo dough, each cut into 4 long strips
40 g butter, melted
40 g vegetable oil
Method:
Preheat oven to 200°C and line a
baking sheet with baking paper. Combine all of the ingredients for the filling
into a smooth paste; best to use your hands for this. Mix the oil and melted
butter together. Working quickly, with one strip of dough at a time and keeping
the rest of the phyllo dough covered with a moist cloth to prevent it from
drying out, brush both sides of the strip of dough with the butter/oil mixture.
Take approximately 2 Tbsp of filling and shape into a somewhat flat equilateral
triangle. Line up one of the sides of the triangle with one of the long edges
of the dough at the end of the strip closest to you. Fold the small amount of
excess dough (closest to you) over the filling. Flip the filling-triangle over
to wrap it in dough, being sure that a side of the triangle aligns along the
edge of the dough. Continue flipping the filling until the entire strip of
dough is wrapped around, and you have a triangular briouatte. Avoid wrapping
too tight around the filling; otherwise it will burst while baking. Place seam
side down onto the baking sheet. Continue the same folding process with the
rest of the filling and dough strips. Bake for 15-20 minutes until golden brown
all over. Enjoy immediately or cool completely and freeze for another time.
Briouattes warm up in a hot oven very well once already baked and frozen.
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Sources
Geng, Yanfei,
Yu Zhang, Sailesh Ranjitkar, Huyin Huai, and Yuhua Wang. "Traditional
Knowledge and Its Transmission of Wild Edibles Used by the Naxi in Baidi
Village, Northwest Yunnan Province." Journal
of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine 12 (February 05 2016): 10.
Ophir,
Adi, and Steven Shapin. "The Place of Knowledge: A Methodological
Survey." Science in Context 4 (1991): 3-21.
Pardo-de-Santayana,
Manuel, Javier Tardío, Emilio Blanco, Ana Carvalho, Juan Lastra, Elia San
Miguel, and Ramón Morales. "Traditional Knowledge of Wild Edible Plants
Used in the Northwest of the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal): A
Comparative Study." Journal of
Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine 3, no. 1 (2007): 27.
Powell,
Bronwen, Abderrahim Ouarghidi, Timothy Johns, Mohamed Ibn Tattou, and Pablo
Eyzaguirre. "Wild Leafy Vegetable Use and Knowledge across Multiple Sites
in Morocco: A Case Study for Transmission of Local Knowledge?". Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine 10:34
(2014).
Signorini,
Maria Adele, Maddalena Piredda, and Piero Bruschi. "Plants and Traditional
Knowledge: An Ethnobotanical Investigation on Monte Ortobene (Nuoro,
Sardinia)." Journal of Ethnobiology
and Ethnomedicine 5 (Feb 10 2009): 6.
[1] Bronwen Powell et al., "Wild Leafy Vegetable Use and Knowledge across
Multiple Sites in Morocco: A Case Study for Transmission of Local
Knowledge?," Journal of Ethnobiology
and Ethnomedicine 10:34 (2014).
[2]
For more information on knowledge’s value through local credibility and
verification, see the post “Age and WFF Knowledge” and its reference to:
Adi Ophir and Steven Shapin, "The Place of Knowledge: A
Methodological Survey," Science in
Context 4 (1991).
[3] Manuel Pardo-de-Santayana et al., "Traditional Knowledge of Wild
Edible Plants Used in the Northwest of the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and
Portugal): A Comparative Study," Journal
of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine 3, no. 1 (2007).
[4]
Ibid.
[5]
Ibid.
[6] In
the local Sardinian language, there exists a joking metaphor that translates to
“It wilted like wild garlic” (Allium triquetrum) and refers to something that
loses all vitality and appeal after “blooming”. In addition to that, the
Sardinian word for Reichardia picroides designates a stupid person (mammalucca
for women and mammaluccu for men). Although no concrete mutual influence
between the language and WFF knowledge can be deciphered from this alone, these
two examples nonetheless show a one-way influence of WFF knowledge on the
language as well as an intriguing incorporation of WFF knowledge into everyday
experience as revealed through expressions. For more information, see:
Maria Adele Signorini, Maddalena Piredda, and Piero Bruschi, "Plants
and Traditional Knowledge: An Ethnobotanical Investigation on Monte Ortobene
(Nuoro, Sardinia)," Journal of
Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine 5 (2009).
[7] Signorini, Piredda, and Bruschi et
al.
[8] Signorini, Piredda, and Bruschi.
[9]
Ibid.
[10] Yanfei Geng et al., "Traditional Knowledge and Its Transmission of
Wild Edibles Used by the Naxi in Baidi Village, Northwest Yunnan
Province," Journal of Ethnobiology
and Ethnomedicine 12 (2016).
[11]
Ibid.
[12]
Ibid.
[13]
Ibid.
[14] Powell et al.
[15]
Ibid.
[16]
Ibid.
[17]
Ibid.
