Les Stroud's Wild Harvest

- Hi, I'm Les Stroud, and welcome to another episode of "Wild Harvest."

You can learn a lot about foraging from the wild by watching this show.

By reading books, by going online, but there is no replacement for heading out with a local expert.

Someone who knows and loves the species of plants that you may be able to discover in the areas where you're foraging.

So, enjoy your books, enjoy your learning online, and certainly enjoy this episode of "Wild Harvest."

But team up with someone who knows what they're doing, and head out on your own wild harvest.

(tranquil music) Our ability to connect to nature is vital for our survival.

From the youngest of the young, to the eldest of the elders, it'll be with our youth and their ability to connect with the natural world, and learn from the natural world that our hope will lie.

And it will be with the elders where we can gain the wisdom and the knowledge for the "Wild Harvest."

(tranquil music intensifies) (tranquil music softens) (wind blowing softly) (creatures chirping distantly) (pleasant music) Chef Paul Rogalski and myself undertook a mission to learn about Alaska's wild edible plants by traveling onboard The Queen Elizabeth ship.

We made plans to stop at various, otherwise difficult-to-get-to ports to learn from experts in the field what was available on land.

Disembarking in Sitka, Alaska gave us the opportunity to not only work with expert forager Mary Goddard, but also her very experienced and very young foraging son, Ryker.

Now, how long have you been looking for wild, edible plants?

Like, all your life?

- Pretty much.

- How old are you?

- Seven.

- Seven.

You're seven years old, and you're totally into wild edible plants like me, is this one of those plants you were talking about?

(plants shuffling) - Yeah, this is a really good one right here.

- Wow, so what do you call this?

- [Ryker] Deer Heart.

- [Les] That's Deer Heart Lily?

- [Ryker] Yeah, you could just eat it.

- Just like this?

- Yeah.

- You sure?

- Yeah.

I've done it many times.

I might get one- - Mm!

How did you know that this plant was edible?

- Because I started eating it when I was two.

(Les chuckling) - Okay, well, fair enough.

Oh, so probably- - Ooh, Deer Heart berries- - Your mom, your dad?

And the berries?

- Yeah, the berries are.

There's a humongous seed in it.

So, this is barely a big berry.

- [Les] So, do you eat them or no?

- [Ryker] You can.

- You can?

- Yeah, it's just you spit out the little seed.

- Hmm, yeah, you're right!

- I don't really like them that much.

- It's like a cucumber.

But I don't like the aftertaste.

- Yeah, the is aftertaste is horrible.

I have never tried the stalk.

Really crunchy.

- Mm-hmm, let me try one.

- Really sour.

It's really sour- - Wow!

You're right!

It's different than the leaf.

So if I wanna harvest this and I wanna harvest it sustainably, can I just take as many as I want because they're abundant, or do I have to be careful and only take like one or two?

- You could take a ton, but just don't take the whole patch.

You gotta be smart 'cause if you go over here, you could see this looks a lot like Deer Heart, but it's not.

- So, this is not?

- This is not Deer Heart.

- [Les] How do I know it's not Deer Heart?

- Because Deer Heart is nice and smooth and round.

That's so prickly.

- [Les] Ah, okay- - And it has more veins than Deer Heart does.

Because (chuckling) Deer Heart has nice, nice veins.

These have crazy veins.

- So, you can't eat these at all?

- [Ryker] No.

- Okay, but the Deer Heart Lilies, we can!

Okay, well, why don't we harvest some?

(pleasant music) Let's get some stalks as well.

'Cause I know Paul, he's gonna like that.

He said Onward to travel To the northern wilds Past waterfalls, tumbling rapids Across the lakes - [Les] I'm gonna give Paul some of these berries too, so if you see any of those.

- [Ryker] I think I saw some more berries over there.

Nothing of this world could stop them Could ever take away These dreams of yesterday - So Paul, knowing what I know of you and what I've seen you do for plating and color, I thought that having Ryker bring us to the snapdragons might be somethin' like, I'm not even gonna harvesting, it's just gonna be you harvesting them.

Have you worked with snapdragons before?

- I have it at the restaurant, but not these.

They're different.

These definitely.

They're gorgeous!

They have some really nice details to them- - They are beautiful.

And when it comes to plating, I mean, you know- - [Paul] Yeah, that's a win.

I mean, that makes my life a little bit easy.

- Now, what were you telling me about, you brush 'em off or somethin' like ease the arrow- - You shake 'em.

- Oh.

- [Ryker and Les] You shake them.

- [Les] Why?

Just to get rid of the bugs?

- [Ryker] Yeah, there's tons of bugs in there.

They've been there.

- When you harvest these, are you harvesting just the little flower tops or the stem or?

- [Ryker] I don't know.

Really.

I've never really used these.

- Like this guy here, I can eat?

- I don't know.

- Mom?

Can we eat this one?

(mother speaking distantly) - [Mom] It's just been a little while.

- No worries.

So just tasting the top.

Go ahead, Paul.

What do you think?

- [Paul] Give it a shake.

(pleasant music) - That's actually kinda good!

- That's kinda good.

- So, Ryker and I are gonna head on, look for some other things.

I'm just gonna let you get as much as you need!

- Sounds good, all right!

Thanks, Ryker!

(gentle music) In a professional kitchen, it's a belief that you eat with your eyes first.

Ultimately, while taste and flavor are paramount in a dish, the visual presentation can significantly enhance the overall experience, and leave the lasting impression on diners.

Whenever I can, I like to take this one step further, using a garnish like the wild snapdragon to establish a time and place in my dish.

This not only gives diners a one of a kind taste experience, it's also a glimpse of the adventure behind the creation of a delicious plate.

- Okay, so what's in a name?

When it comes to wild, edible plants, an awful lot.

Common names are tricky, they're misleading.

You can have a common name of a plant in one geographic location, go to another one far away, same common name, completely different plant, and maybe that plant's poisonous.

And Ryker was calling these the Deer Heart Lilies.

And I can see why he nicknamed them that.

It's actually False Lilly of the Valley.

(airy music) Maianthemum dilatatum.

I probably got that wrong, so look it up, but that should be the Latin.

And it's a wonderful little perennial.

Generally speaking, you're looking at two to three leaves.

It grows widespread throughout North America.

Usually, you're gonna find it in forest thickets, shaded areas.

The berries themselves, they always look like they should be edible, it turns out that they've been eaten for thousands of years by the indigenous cultures of North America!

So, there you have it, False Lily of The Valley, wonderful little delicate, wild edible.

It turns out harvesting from the wild is a whole family affair.

For Mary Goddard and her son, Ryker, and even her husband Lucas, who has joined Paul to do a little bit of test kitchen of sorts for the Deer Heart.

- Okay, so new culinary challenge for us, Lucas.

This is Deer Heart Lilly.

And to me, this is a unique one, and I eat it fresh, so I'm kind of in my mind thinking, keeping it that way, like serving it fresh, if we can.

- Yeah!

We like to add it to salads.

It's almost got the consistency of spinach, but a little more bitter.

- Yeah, I don't think we have to do anything complicated with that at all.

And you know what's really kind of fun?

I've got just a couple of wild snapdragons that we can use to garnish it out.

And I think there's some berries in here too.

Those are really cool.

- Yeah, they definitely have some cool color.

- [Paul] Let's try one.

(soft music) - Whoa.

(chuckling) Different than you expect after the eating the leaf, huh?

- Yeah, that's kinda like a flavor punch.

- Mm-hmm.

- Okay.

Oh man, the aftertaste.

That's crazy, that's something that we have to think about.

And it's a new flavor for me.

Like where it's sitting on my palate.

It's kind of right in that deep bitter zone.

- This might be kind of fun.

We used to do this growing up.

We could put the shred in its own cup.

- [Paul] That's really cool, okay.

- [Lucas] Yeah.

- [Paul] So, it was leaf over leaf poke through?

- [Lucas] Yeah!

And you can just use a, just do a little, little poke, and.

(utensils clinking) Then, just stick it through and it makes a little cup.

- That's awesome.

It looks like a lily.

That's really cool.

I never ever would've thought that would be our presentation piece.

(pleasant music) We have hives at the restaurant.

- [Lucas] Oh, nice.

- [Paul] And yes, every year we're producing our own honey, (spoon clinking) which is somethin' kind of special.

Okay, that's the Paul touch.

(pleasant music intensifies) Okay.

- [Lucas] Sometimes, it's the littlest things that have the biggest impact when garnishing a plate.

The sweet honey and the bitter seeds work in harmony to complete this bite.

Hey, Les!

- [Les] Yep!

I'm comin', I'm comin'.

- Bye, Ranger.

- All right.

- Ah!

Thank you Lucas.

- Yeah!

- For you!

(Les speaking indistinctly) - Is this a finger food?

- It's finger food.

- Well, first knee jerk instant reaction is, it looks beautiful, guys.

It really is a pretty plate.

That's gorgeous.

Lucas, you start with, what am I lookin' at?

- So, the main thing is the Deer Heart greens.

We have a cup from the Deer Heart with some chopped up Deer Heart in it.

And then the berries, we put in honey, give 'em a little different flavor profile and a little snapdragon flowers for color!

(salad crunching) (pleasant music) - Mm!

Mm!

Well, can I lick my fingers?

'Cause wow.

The honey was a nice touch.

It's not overly bitter for me.

You know what I'm gettin', Paul?

It's one of those moments where I'm getting a flavor I haven't had before.

I love when that happens.

Sometimes, you get a wild foraged ingredient.

Oh, it tastes like parsley.

Oh, it tastes like celery, oh it.

And then other times, you get a foraged ingredient, and you can't nail what it tastes like.

It's like, well it tastes like itself!

And actually, I think I still like that the best most of all, when you get that experience, what do you guys think?

- I thought it was just a nice, clean, fresh, genuine profiling of the flavors.

I thought the berries needed the honey, that was something we were talking about them.

And once we rolled them in honey and you had that bite, their positive attributes popped, and they became quite floral in a sense.

The snapdragons, they were color.

There wasn't much flavor to them at all.

- Color and a little bit of texture maybe.

- Maybe, yeah.

- That was wonderful, I really enjoyed that, Paul.

And you're right, that's the ingredient, almost naked.

It's just there, there it is!

It's the False Lily of The Valley, or as Ryker would call it, Deer Heart Lily.

Right?

It brought home, so thanks, man.

When we were gathering this morning with Ryker's mom, Mary, we had quite an abundant harvest of a plant called sourdock.

So, we thought we should give Lucas and Paul a chance to do a quick test kitchen on that plant before we all got back on board to Queen Elizabeth.

- I've never used sourdock until now.

Have you ever tried?

- I've never tried it.

- I know it's like spinach.

It's a good like spinach replacement.

- So, first thought I had, "Oh, that piece was really bitter."

Every bite that I've had of this stuff has been different.

- That (voice drowns) - It's been really sour.

That one was bitter.

- Almost has like a rhubarb twang to it.

- Yeah!

Do you know what?

I never thought of that.

But you're 100% spot (chuckling) on.

Anything you wanna try with it?

- [Lucas] Sauteing it up should be good.

- [Paul] I like that.

- [Lucas] Mm-kay.

- You said earlier you had some salmon.

Yeah!

King salmon.

- Okay.

Then, I have an idea.

I will prep this for you to saute.

And I will take the stems and I will char them, and see how that goes.

It'll be kind of like a little experiment.

We'll just make it our ambition to really showcase that sourdock.

- Yeah!

Sounds good.

I'll grab some stuff to get this goin'.

(pan clanking) - Oh yeah, how was that?

(objects shuffling) Cool.

(fish sizzling) So, here's something a little crazy.

I'm gonna put that right onto the coals and turn arm up.

And I'm thinking that maybe I just cut them really fine and sprinkle 'em on top, and see what happens.

(fish sizzling) Can't pull this guy out.

It's gonna be interesting.

There you go.

I'm just really curious about this.

(knife shuffling) (mouth clicking) Yeah!

- That's all right!

- That's not bad!

- That's okay!

- Mm-hmm!

(fish sizzling) - [Paul] Oh, that color's awesome though.

- Alright.

- First let's try these.

Tang.

- Mm-hmm.

- They're bright, they'll go really good with the fish.

You know what?

I already know what you are thinking, Lucas.

I'm gonna add on the stem, kind of like a seasoning, and then time to eat!

(utensils clinking) (airy music) Hey, Les!

- [Les] All right!

Hey!

Okay!

Lay it on me!

- So it was kind of on the bitter side, so we figured sauteing it would be the way to go.

Also charring the stem to give it a different profile, it was a great idea- - So, that's why the flakes are there?

- Mm-hmm.

- Yeah!

- Okay.

And is this your own salmon?

- Yeah!

This might've been one that Ryker actually caught his first salmon- - No kidding?

- Yeah!

- Paul, any special way I should eat this?

- Foraged ingredient first.

- Just on its own?

- On its own.

- Mm.

Woo!

Wow, that's got some lemon goin' on, that is cool.

(Paul chuckling) - It's got some tang.

- It's got some tang.

Is this king salmon?

- Mm-hmm!

- Nice.

(spoon clinking) Gosh, I love Alaska.

(chuckling) (utensils clinking) (Les groaning) (Les chuckling) Yeah, that's outta the park.

(Les laughing) (Ranger whining) See, even ranger wants something.

(Paul chuckling) - Yeah, he does.

- What was it like to work with it?

I mean, it feels like it's got more body than spinach.

- When we sauteed it, it took a little longer than spinach.

Didn't welt as much.

- Chewier, like there's definitely more strength to the leaf, but I really like the flavor that it brought in.

So, a little bit of sour, a little bit of nutty from the fire.

Of course, the salmon is like the ultimate delivery system for this flavor- - Kinda is.

This is great, guys.

(soft music) I got nothin' to say against this, Paul, just thank you so much, Lucas, for helpin' us out with this, this is just, this is amazing.

(utensils clinking) - My pleasure.

- And now, it's back on board The Queen Elizabeth.

For Paul and I to join with Chef De Cuisine, Khem Singh, in having some fun with the Deer Heart and the snapdragon flowers.

- This is a show that celebrates and loves nature and ingredients from nature, and food.

So you can relax, there's no competition, in fact, quite the opposite.

What I'd like you and Paul to do is to kinda work together.

- Okay.

- The challenge is going to be to truly highlight the wild ingredients in the dish.

So, shall we do this?

- [Chef Khem] Yes.

- All right, cool.

So first of all, the garnish is a beautiful, just a pretty little flower top from the snapdragon flower.

And here we go.

This is the main one that you wanna really work with.

This is called False Lily of The Valley.

- [Chef Khem] Ooh, yes!

- [Les] Beautiful green texture.

(soft exotic music) - [Chef Khem] Looks nice!

- [Paul] Beautiful.

- So Paul, I'm gonna need you guys to go through this, and have some fun guys.

- Alright.

- Cheers.

(Chef Khem chattering indistinctly) - Do you like hemp?

- This is my very first time cooking in a cruise ship.

- Whoa!

(chuckling) - In the galley, very first time.

It's pretty cool!

Being in the place that 2,000 people are nourished from every single day.

That's a huge amount.

Three meals?

That's a lot of food.

It's satisfying to witness Khem having fun with the Deer Heart Lily.

And his weapon of choice was the blender.

It'll make (blender buzzing) a beautiful green sauce.

(glass thudding softly) Oh, that looks good already.

Can I taste?

- Yeah.

- Oh man, that's delicious.

(Chef Khem laughing) That is so good!

- Yeah.

- Now, time for me to get some king crab going.

I like to have everything in its place.

(indistinct) floss.

Really important in the kitchen.

This is where I don't know the kitchen.

(pot clinking) (food shuffling) Alright.

Never waste anything.

I wanna put the Deer Heart Lily here as well, and see if I can get a nice herbal tone to this, and make a little glaze for the steak.

Khem's fresh black cod and scallops highlight the bounty of our location.

And his green sauce makes for a perfect quick marinade to bring the flavor of the Deer Heart Lily right into the core of his dish.

Oh, I can smell it.

The distinct Deer Heart Lily aroma coming through.

That's fun.

In fact, I've never done that before, I wasn't expecting it to be such a herbaceous bomb.

It's a good start.

(knife thudding softly) Now, I'm just gonna add a little bit of Panko to help bind the crab and the Deer Heart Lily together.

Khem's execution of the blanch and refresh technique is perfect.

The hot to cold method brings forward the beautiful green color that's hidden within the Deer Heart Lily leaves.

Both Khem and I are focused on giving our proteins (food searing) a good sear.

First, to add flavor and lock in the juices, but also to add a visual appeal to our components, which is ultra important when making beautiful food.

(kitchen buzzing) (food sizzling) (waves whooshing softly) (soft music) Oh, that smells grace.

(pot clinking) I love what you have going there.

It's not often that two chefs collaborate on one plate, but it makes sense because we have similar thoughts on how to utilize the Deer Heart Lily.

And so rather than two full, separate presentations, we'll combine our ideas on one plate.

All right.

(hands tapping) Nice (chuckling) work.

- You guys ready?

(people chattering distantly) Let's do this.

Alright!

Oh my goodness.

Well, this is looking wonderful.

- Oh, this was fun!

Man, we had a good time cooking together.

(Chef Khem laughing) - Yeah.

- I think you've got half of this dish and Khem has the other half?

What are we looking at here?

- So, it's a surf and turf.

It's a beef tenderloin fillet with a crab cake on top, and there's a collaboration that's taken place, which is kind of fun.

So first off, I have to say, we're in Alaska.

Carrying that theme, I have an Alaskan King Crab cake made with Deer Heart Lily, which I've just recently learned.

However, I'm from cattle country, and we are in a steakhouse, and I thought it fitting (soft music) to bring a little bit of home here to share with you guys, because I've been so lucky to experience Alaska.

- Mm!

- Captain?

What do you think?

- It starts off mild, and then you get into the sauce, and you get that real bite out of it, it's a real explosion in your mouth, isn't it?

- Yeah.

(Captain laughing) So, my first experience.

Oh!

This is gonna be about aftertaste!

'Cause there it is.

This happens, sometimes, you have a bite, it's like, okay, that's really good!

Or bam, it's right in your face.

This one is one, all of a sudden now, I'm getting the heat on the aftertaste and having the scallop.

So, that I love.

I love when food takes a little bit more time.

- I know it's kind of strange to say, but when I taste the sauce, it tastes green to me.

It tastes like chlorophyll.

- [Stephen] Very.

- If that makes sense.

- I think, Paul, you nailed it, it's a chlorophyll taste, it's green, but with a spice to it.

Jacqui, how 'bout yourself, are you getting?

- I mean, just to say you've got that taste of greenery, haven't you?

You got taste with vegetable?

It's very nice.

And I do like this leaf as well.

- Well, Jacqui and Captain Steph Howard, thank you so very much for allowing us to be on the ship, allowing us to have the wild harvest throughout Alaska!

Because it's created experiences for Paul and I, that we still, that we've never had before!

New experiences every single time!

(soft music) And I think that's really the magic, is that you can experience local foraging in a variety of ways.

You can cook over an open fire on a beach near the ocean, with whales breaching in the background.

You can barbecue somewhere in the thick woods.

(fire crackling) You can cook in your own kitchen, eat in your own backyard, or you can enjoy it here on a cruise ship while traveling through Alaska in a way that's accessible to you.

And it's that accessibility that gets you out in nature in the first place.

It reconnects you to nature and enables you to have your own wild harvest.

(utensils clinking) This is great.

(soft music intensifies) (pleasant music) Nothing of this world could stop them Could never take away These dreams of yesterday (pleasant guitar music) - [Les] If you'd like to continue to Wild Harvest with me and Chef Paul Rogalski, (leaves shuffling) then please check out our website at wildharvestfilms.com, where we have recipes and foraging tips, along with deleted scenes and outtakes from the making of Les Stroud's "Wild Harvest."

(pleasant music) - [Narrator] Directly inspired by the series, Chef Paul and expert forager, Les Stroud, bring you the "Wild Harvest" recipe book, highlighting all of Paul's dishes, and complete with behind the scenes stories, it is available for 29.99.

In addition, a DVD of this season is also available for 19.99.

To order, please go to wildharvestfilms.com, "Wild Harvest" TV show on Facebook, or Les Stroud's Wild Harvest on YouTube.

(wind blowing distantly) (birds twittering distantly) (graphics whooshing) (exciting electronic music)