John Slattery is the type of person who looks at weeds and thinks, pesto! The local herbalist and owner of Desert Tortoise Botanicals finds food all around us, from flowers and backyard plants to oak trees growing at Reid Park.
For the past several years he's been studying acorns, one of Tucson's most plentiful food sources, but also one of the most misunderstood. There's a misconception that the nutrient-rich nut is poisonous, but people in this region have been eating them for thousands of years, he says.
The main issue is that acorns contain a great deal of tannins, the bitter substance that gives red wine its complex backbone but can also upset your stomach if you consume too much of it. Depending on the type of oak tree, Slattery might be able to eat a few acorns while they're still raw. After that they can begin to shut down your digestive system.
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That's why after he collects them, he takes them back to his kitchen to process them, first drying them out in the sun for about a week. Once they're fully dry, he grinds them with a nut grinder to make an acorn flour. At this stage of the process it only takes a few minutes of soaking in a jar before all the tannins are leached out. (For a more detailed rundown of the procedure, check out Slattery's blog at desertortoisebotanicals.com/how-to-process-acorns-for-food)
Once you're a pro, you can make everything from acorn pancakes and cookies to spicy burgers with wild foraged herbs ... But you better get started soon, because they're only in season for a few more weeks!
A handful of acorns picked from the ground at Reid Park.
Acorn Burgers with Mountain Spices and Chiltepín
-recipe by John Slattery
- 1/2 cup acorn flour, leached
- 3 tablespoons pecan meal (can substitute almond meal)
- 1 large egg
- 1-2 tablespoons broth, gravy, water, or milk
- 1 tablespoon Extra Virgin Coconut Oil
- 2 medium I’Itoi onions, chopped (can substitute shallots)
- 1 tablespoon Mountain Spice Blend from Desert Tortoise Botanicals (or spices of your choice)
- 2 chiltepín peppers, crushed
- pinch sea salt
- bacon fat, or other oil for frying
Combine all ingredients and mix by hand. Set aside in the refrigerator, covered, for at least 4 hours, or overnight. When you pull the moist dough out of the refrigerator, begin to heat your oil in a skillet. Mold the burgers with your hands to your desired size. I prefer about 2.5 to 3 inches across, like sliders.
Cook the burgers over medium-low heat until they begin to brown. Flip and brown the other side. Set aside to cool and drain on paper towel.
Serve on an acorn biscuit, or atop a bed of fresh or sauteed greens.
I like to top with a London rocket pesto or elderberry ketchup.
Enjoy!
Options: Add chopped tart apple and yellow or sweet onions. I like to make a sweet acorn burger with saguaro seed meal, barrel cactus seed meal, mesquite meal, prickly pear syrup, and/or saguaro syrup, topped with organ pipe cactus (pitaya) marmelade. Remove chiltepín, if desired, and add your favorite spices. There are countless varieties to come up with!
