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I wake up to the eerie glow of pre-dawn filtering through the mossy trees - earlier than normal on this dusky spring morning. My heart flutters with excitement as I quickly pack up my little tent and stuff my backpack with some water and granola bars. I know I need to get to the beach quickly if I want to catch the early-morning low tide. I take off down the path full of eerie blue shadows and hidden tree roots, walking as quickly as I can over the uneven rocky ground. Soon I am zig-zagging down the bluff and walking out onto damp sand. The sky has lightened to a soft blue as sunbeams seem to push through the trees, highlighting their mossy veils. 

Perfect. I am the only one here. I walk down the beach towards the rocks - big outcroppings like little islands surrounded by smooth wet sand. Lots of sea water is held in every indentation, forming a terrain of tidepools and barnacles that can be viewed from all angles. It’s a bit like a museum exhibit and I delight in how easy it is to peek into the briny depths of these lumpy formations. 

There are so many things to look at in wonder and delight - the glass-like fringe of teal anemones, the purples of sea urchins, the scuttling of tiny crabs amongst verdantly-green sea lettuce. The feather-like bodies of barnacles catch my attention as they wave in the briny water, feeding. While I am captivated by their hypnotic dancing, I see something move out of the corner of my eye. I jump, startled that anything other than a bird would be exploring this intertidal world so early in the morning. Slowly I scramble up to a rock clear of barnacles to get a better view of the other outcropping. Sure enough, there’s a striped tail leading to a raccoon, who eyes me with a curious glance as I do the same to him. 

Soon after, the sunbeams finally reach us and illuminate the shine on his wet coat. I watch, transfixed, as he wrestles shellfish from the rocks and bashes them against the hard surface to break open, then washes them almost obsessively in the pool in front of him. He doesn’t seem to mind my presence, glancing at me frequently with a mix of wariness and curiosity. As he dines on a feast of shellfish and sea urchins, he inches closer and closer to me, as if to try to work out what this large purple raincoat-clad creature is doing at his brunch buffet. I stay still, not wanting to alarm him. When I slowly reach for a granola bar and start in on my own breakfast, he inches even closer still, obviously curious. Our eyes meet as we both nibble away, and I feel like he sees me in a way I have never been seen before. A pulse of energy reverberates back and forth between us, mutual curiosity and entrancement. I spend my entire morning moving through the island tidepools with the raccoon, always staying in each other’s sight as we both explore the ocean treasures (though I am satisfied with my granola bar and don’t feel a need to bash in any shellfish.) 

One thing I love about raccoons is their endless curiosity. He is clearly too entranced by me to scuttle off to more distant perches as most critters probably would. In fact, he follows me around just as much as I follow him! As the tide starts rolling back in, I realize it is time to wade back to shore before the water gets too deep. It swirls around my rainboots, just shallow enough not to flood inside them. I push my way through the water, a little sad to leave such a magical connection behind. Then, I look over to see the back of that raccoon swimming back to shore alongside me. Once we are both on the beach again, we share one final long glance, making direct eye contact that somehow feels more powerful than any other gaze I have held before. With a final blink, he scampers away into the shadows of the bluff. I too walk back to the trail along wet sand, my heart feeling light and full. Walking back through those dense woods, lighter now, feels like slowly emerging from some kind of enchantment. 

I’m not sure I ever really emerged completely from the spell cast on me that early morning. I sometimes feel like I have become a more curious and mischievous person than I was before that encounter, delighting in surprising people in unusual, wonder-filled ways or exploring the depths of any subject that catches my attention. I often dream of that raccoon, particularly in times when I am feeling a bit stuck. When I wake up from those dreams, I feel my natural curiosity about the wonders of the world flood back, like a tide returning from its worship of the moon. 

This dish is in honor of that experience, and the spell of enchantment that raccoon seemed to cast. At first glance, it looks like a medley of oceanic delights - a batter-fried fish with a scoop of tartar sauce, a crispy fried fish skin, some unusual caviar. But this treat is entirely plant-based. There is no fish, no caviar, no animals of any kind hiding amongst the sea lettuce and edible blossoms. Instead, I have taken some notes out of the Book of the Trickster and found suitable surprises to create an immersive experience. Caviar melts on the tongue with the surprising flavor of mirin, colored by bright purple cabbage. A light-as-air crisp has the rich sweetness of black garlic. And in the fried fish ball, you’ll find an appetizing flakiness reminiscent of a plate of fish and chips, thanks to the unique texture of hearts of palm (which can be found in most grocery stores.) All of the little varied elements come together to feel like delightedly exploring the treasures of a tidepool, no bashing of shells required. 

Don’t be intimidated by the many little recipes that go into this creation. None of them take much time or difficulty, though you will want to do a couple of things the night before you plan to serve it: put a bowl of vegetable oil in the fridge to chill and start on the “fish skin” crisp so it can dehydrate overnight. When serving, you’ll want to get all of the cool elements plated in large shells or small plates before you fry the “fish” so it can be served warm. I hope you enjoy the process of creating this dish, too. There is something that feels a bit “mad scientist” about watching perfect little purple spheres form, and frying the tapioca crisps is deeply satisfying. 

This is a super fun vegan dish to serve as a small plate or appetizer. My family said they would be perfectly happy with it, even if they were expecting seafood… and, in fact, might not even have noticed that anything wasn’t quite what it seemed if I hadn’t told them. The hearts of palm are delightfully flaky and have a slight seafood flavor thanks to a pinch of powdered kelp. Tartar sauce adds crunch and zestiness, mirin caviar adds a bit of sweetness, and crispy “fish skin” add a delicious umami component. All together, it makes one satisfying little snack! These recipes will serve 10-12 small plates

Components: 

Foraged edible seaweed with a dash of ponzu sauce

Edible spring flowers

Samphire (not shown, but recommended!) 

Mirin caviar (recipe below) 

Vegan tartar sauce (recipe below) 

tapioca crisp (recipe below) 

Beer battered flaky palm (recipe below) 

Large shells or small plates, for serving 

Plating: 

1. Prepare the mirin caviar and vegan tartar sauce and keep them refridgerated. Then, prepare the tapioca crisp and set aside. Assemble the hearts of palm and start plating the other components while you batter and fry them. 

2. Assembly: place a little foraged edible seaweed on each shell, along with edible spring flowers. Place a fried heart of palm “fish” onto each plate. Top with a scoop of tartar sauce. Stick a tapioca crisp into the tartar sauce and place a small pile of mirin caviar on top. Garnish as desired with more sea vegetables or edible flowers. Serve immediately. 

Vegan Tartar Sauce: 

4 cornichon pickles

1 shallot

1 tsp. Seedy mustard 

1 tsp. capers

Pinch of salt

½ c. vegan mayo 

Directions: 

1. Finely dice the pickles, shallot, and capers. Add them to a medium bowl and add the rest of the ingredients. Mix well. 

Purple Caviar: 

Large cup of canola oil, chilled in the fridge overnight

Clean syringe

¼ c. chopped purple cabbage

⅓ c. water

¼ c. mirin 

¼ tsp. Agar agar 

Directions: 

1. Put the purple cabbage and water in a very small saucepan and bring to a simmer. Continue to cook until the liquid has reduced to about 1 Tbs. Remove from heat and add the mirin. Strain. 

2. Measure out ⅓ c. of liquid and put it in a clean saucepan. Add the Agar agar and bring to a boil. Cook for 3 minutes, then remove from heat and fill the syringe with the mixture. 

3. Squeeze droplets over the chilled oil; they will firm up into little balls by the time they float down to the bottom. 

4. To store, keep the caviar in the fridge covered with a little oil. Before serving, strain them out of the oil and rinse under very cold water. 

Tapioca Crisp:

½ c. tapioca pearls

3 c water

½ tsp. Salt

1 tsp. Thick balsamic vinegar

2 tsp. Black garlic paste

Natural blue food coloring, optional

Non-stick silicone baking mat on a tray

Edible silver luster dust, optional

Vegetable oil to fry in

Directions: 

1. Add the tapioca pearls, water, and salt to a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer and cook until the pearls become translucent with a small pin of white in the center. 

2. Drain, then rinse under cold water. Mix together the balsamic vinegar and black garlic paste until smooth, then mix it into the tapioca. Add blue food coloring to get a gray/green color, if desired. 

3. Spread the mixture out really thin on the silicone baking mat and let dry completely. (You can put it in an oven set to the lowest temperature to speed up the process, if necessary.) 

4. Heat 1” of oil in a deep pot until it is between 380F and 400F. Break the dehydrated tapioca up into shards and gently add a shard to the hot oil. Fry until all of the tapioca have popped, then scoop out with a slotted spoon and drain on a paper towel-covered plate. 

5. Once cooled, you can use a clean paintbrush to dust the crisps with a little edible silver luster dust for a realistic fish skin effect. 

Beer-Battered Flaky “Fish” 

2 14oz cans of hearts of palm 

1 tsp. Powdered kelp

¾ c. flour (plus a little extra) 

¼ c. cornstarch

¾  tsp baking powder

½ tsp. Salt 

1 tsp sugar 

½ tsp. West Bay Seasoning (or use Old Bay) 

¼ tsp. pepper

1 beer - you’ll use about 6oz beer

Vegetable oil, for frying

Directions: 

1. Place the beer in the freezer. Prep the hearts of palm by draining the can, then pop the “cores” out of the middle of the cylinders. Cut them open and flatten. Shred the cores and mix them with the powdered kelp, then cover them in the flattened pieces. Squeeze each morsel of “fish” until it sticks together cohesively (excess liquid will be squeezed out as you do.) 

2. Heat 11/2” of vegetable oil over medium high heat. To make the batter, mix together the dry ingredients. When the oil is around 365F and ready to fry, slowly mix the beer into the batter, whisking with a fork. The batter should be thick and combined with a few small lumps. 

3. Dust the hearts of palm “fish” pieces with flour, then dunk them in the batter to coat. Carefully drop them in the hot oil and fry until golden brown on both sides. Drain on paper towels. Plate while hot (as described above) and serve immediately. 

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