I am interested in invasive species and the philosophy behind “invasive.” I grew up on the island of Guam, which made me an invader myself. While residing there, I saw how an outrageous explosion in the number of invasive brown tree snakes destroyed the local bird populace. They killed our island fowl and made it extinct.
In Louisiana, where I lived for decades, there has been a huge invasion of nutria, a kind of giant swamp rat that eats the roots of marsh flora and erodes the panorama. Louisiana is washing away. The ecologists spoke back with a central authority-sanctioned cull, and the local sheriff located an $8 bounty on their tails. But nobody knew how to use the animal, so carcasses were floating anywhere. And I just saved thinking: what a waste – their fur is stunning, and their meat tastes top-notch – so why aren’t they being placed to use? I became stimulated to ask artists to make things from nutria for the 2008 New Orleans biennial, which turned into Eat the Problem’s start.
Now, we have a better appreciation of environmental problems. Foodies are so much extra interested in the terroir and in which their substances come from. It has become a fun venture for the ebook members to create recipes that turn invasive species from something hated into something delicious. Their recipes have become the physical manifestation of a larger philosophy, remodeling a flaw into a function.
Of course, numerous things we discover are difficult simply because they are surprising. Masses of ingredients can be seen as horrifying using one subculture but delicacies by every other, like insects, weeds, sea urchins, or parts of an animal like organs or extremities. We should check our prejudices about what is and isn’t ideal to consume and why. And culinary artwork is properly suitable for that motive.
We’ve surely taken cows off the Mona menus due to the effect of cattle farming on the surroundings. Why could we serve cows when we use a species that is already being culled for environmental purposes, be that deer, rabbit, or even feral cat (in my view, I am not prepared for the latter; however, why might we devour cow or sheep above any of those animals is a superb question to ask)?
I want to have a good time with pest abundance without including the ecological damage and ethical debt collected through animal agriculture. In addition to reframing many of the less obviously appetizing ingredients within the ebook, the cooks had to create monochromatic dishes – all one color – because the book is a rainbow (and because I am a lover of a monochrome palate).
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Environmentalism and sustainability are often heavy-handed and dualistic, which I discover aesthetically and philosophically unappealing. I wanted to have fun with the complexity of invasiveness in a way that honors the complexity of surroundings. And I wanted to create something lovely, to contribute to the sustainability communique more seductively or attractively. An ecological message, this is nuanced, paradoxical, glamorous, and, in the end, amusing: a surrealistic artwork. After all, Eat the Problem is a cookbook from Mona, so it must suddenly be conceptually tough, gross, and fabulous.
80g sea urchin roe
2 tsp cream
1 tsp sea salt flakes
½ tsp floor pepper
200g spaghetti
25g unsalted butter
1 tbsp olive oil
Two garlic cloves, crushed
2 tbsp tomato paste
2 tbsp ocean trout roe
40g bottarga
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Pulse 1/2 the ocean urchin roe and cream in a blender until clean, being careful not to overwork. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper. Cut the remaining urchin roe into approximately 1cm segments and set them aside.
Cook the pasta in a large pot of salted boiling water until al dente. While the pasta is cooking, warm the butter and oil in a frying pan. Add the garlic and sauté for two minutes, or until softened. Add the tomato paste and sauté for another three minutes.
Strain the pasta and toss it into the garlic tomato butter, adding a dash of the pasta water. Stir until the pasta is evenly covered with tomato sauce. Pour the sea urchin cream, stir through the pasta, and prepare dinner for another minute. Remove from heat. Stir in the chopped urchin and ocean trout roe, and toss—season with salt and pepper.
