Food: Invasive species make an unusually satisfying meal

EAT THE ENEMY

Clever chefs fight against invasive species— by serving them for dinner By Maridel Reyes

You’ve heard of the locavore, but what about the invasivore? Whether it’s lionfish, which are ruining reefs in Mexico, or wild boar, tearing up California valleys, invasive species are the latest offering on menus around the world. After being accidentally introduced to local habitats, where most of them

don’t have natural

predators, these organisms multiply— often at a rapid pace— causing environmental stress, infrastructure harm, and even health problems. Pioneering chefs are taking sustainability one step further by working with foragers, fishermen, and hunters as a form of edible conservation. “I was looking to utilize ingredients that may not be mainstream,” says Taylor Naples of Craft New York. “Then I realized these items had great flavor.” Here’s a global guide to some of the animals, fish, and plants you might order next. Chew Your Weeds

Three new plants to try

At Craft New York, citrusy purslane tips cut the fattiness of foie gras torchon. The weed was introduced to the U.S. by early settlers from Europe; left unchecked, it forms a dense carpet.

Garlic mustard enlivens a marinade for alpaca strip loin at Juniper in Burlington, Vt. In nature, the plant out-competes wildflowers and gets in the way of grazing fauna.

The tart leaves of Japanese knotweed are pickled and fried at Miya’s Sushi in New Haven. First brought from Asia as an ornamental, it chokes most ecosystems and disrupts landscaping.

g Wild Boar Bruschetta

The hogs, which are native to Europe and Asia, were first brought over by explorers to the U.S. in the 1700s. Eventually, they broke free from their owners and went feral, and now you’ll find them coast to coast. At Giorgio’s in Salinas, Calif., chef Alessio Giannuzzi serves his swine with tomato bruschetta and prosciutto he cures himself. Boar

meat is dark and lean, packing a more intense flavor

than cured ham, like a gamey version of regular pork. Giannuzzi also adds boar—a popular meat in Italy—to a ragout for pasta dishes such as pappardelle and lasagna.

Other Guilt-Free Meats

Sick of eating pork? There are several more exotic options. In Puerto Rico, kiosks sell iguana kebabs. In Fitzroy, Australia, Charcoal Lane offers a wild rabbit terrine. In Miami, several cooks are experimenting with Burmese python—the escaped pets are destroying the Everglades.

Tambaqui Fish Ribs

Served at Sea Salt in Naples, Fla., these resemble baby-back ribs but are more tender. They come from Amazon Fish Co., which employs locals to catch the 200-pound beasts throughout Brazil.

Moon Jellyfish

Chef John Cox of Big Sur’s Post Ranch Inn dices and plates them with lemon and ginger. Left alone, the pests eat 10 times their weight daily and reproduce rapidly.

o Dogfish Tacos

The coastal cuisine served at Seamore’s, a new restaurant in downtown Manhattan, relies on many sea critters, including the dogfish—a “trash fish” that’s crowding parts of the Atlantic Ocean— and lionfish. You can order any of them in tacos, on blackenedfish sandwiches, or over seasonal salads. The restaurant collaborates with Dock to Dish, a new program in New York, Florida, and Boston that works with fisher men to get the freshest possible produce. Seamore’s gets its dogfish—which is technically a shark and

tastes a bit like scallops

but less chewy—from nearby Montauk, on Long Island.

There are more than 50 invasive

fish throughout the world’s oceans. Many are now being discovered as safe to eat and delicious, too. Fried Red Snapper

The Atlantic’s most well-known invader, it became big in the 1970s after fishing seasons were introduced. It has since gone global: The JW Marriott Khao Lak Resort & Spa in Phang Nga, Thailand, suggests dipping it into sweet-and-sour sauce.

This disgusting creature, known as lionfish, is harming the fishing industry on the coastal U.S. It’s buttery and tasty—only after removing the poisonous spines.