Sautéed Cattail Shoots with Butter and Lemon
The forager's 'Cossack asparagus' — tender white cattail cores sautéed briefly in butter and finished with lemon. Somewhere between cucumber and hearts of palm.
Ingredients
serves 4From the garden
- 1 lb cattail shoots, peeled down to the tender pale cores — spring to early-summer stalks
- 1 tbsp chives or parsley, chopped (optional)
From the pantry
- 3 tbsp butter
- 1 lemon — zest and juice
- salt
- black pepper
Steps
tap a step to dim it as you go- Clean the shoots: working from the base, strip away the outer green layers of each stalk until you reach the pale core that's tender enough to dent with a fingernail. Rinse well and cut into 2-inch lengths.
- Melt the butter in a wide skillet over medium heat until it foams. Add the shoots and a pinch of salt and sauté 4–6 minutes, tossing often, until just tender with a little bite left — they overcook quickly.
- Off the heat, add the lemon zest, a good squeeze of juice, black pepper, and the herbs if using. Toss once.
- Serve hot — they sit in for asparagus next to fish, chicken, or eggs.