Saturday, April 24, 2010

Wild Greens For Dinner

This is broadleaf dock, a weed that I let grow all over my back yard.  We'll take the larger leaves that aren't too beat-up or bug-bit and we'll base our dish on that.

A few leaves of Garlic Mustard in the mix will make the flavor more interesting.

I've got so much lemon balm it actually serves as ground cover in parts of the yard.  Might as well add some to the greens pot.  It should balance the garlic mustard nicely.

We'll leave the dandelions out this time.  Been there already.  I might go back and dig out the taproot next time.

Chives are another flavor boost in the greens pot.  I actually pulled several wild onions from the middle of the yard, cut off the little fibrous root and chopped up the rest into the mix.  Yum!

I got caught up in foraging and forgot to take pics of the Poke and Long Lettuce that I also found.  Gotta eat that Poke when it's young or it will poison you.  I only plucked a few partially open leaves on some shoots only about 6 inches tall.  It's taller than me when it's grown.  I don't take chances.

Here's how you cook this bunch of yard trimmings:  After you wash the greens, roll them all up like a big cigar on your cutting board and cut slices about 1/4 inch wide.  Get your (cast iron) skillet medium hot with some extra virgin olive oil covering the bottom.  Toss those strips of greens around in there so it all gets a little oil and then stir occaisionally as the heat collapses it all down.  No salt, no pepper, no vinegar.  Just wild plants and a little olive oil.  We ate it with beef tenderized with an overnight marinade of wine and onions, slow-baked in the juice.  So there were some big strong flavors jumping up and saying howdy to each other but they complemented well.

1 comment:

  1. Very Interesting... We started an herb garden last year and plan to expand on that, but I don't know if I can convince Cathy (or myself for that matter) to try wild vegetation.
    JimZ

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