Giant Gobo

The trauma of pulling this gigantic gobo root out of the ground was like the story of the giant turnip, where the old man helped the old woman, the dog and the cat and the cow or whatever all lined up to pull and pull.... Normal gobo (burdock) roots are long and thin, like a finger's diameter. This monster is over a meter long (that's over 3 feet) and very thick. It is covered with mud because once exposed to the air, it will discolor and spoil rapidly. I like it fixed so many ways I can't decide - maybe we'll make tempura with some and use the rest in o-zoni soup- after all, it is New Year's.