Wild Food Salads
Fresh, Healthy Salad Leaves Including Dandelion and Hawthorn
Absolutely fresh salad leaves on your doorstep that cost nothing more than a little study and knowhow.
In the spring there are very few cultivated salad leaves that grow in a temperate climate, unless they are protected by plastic or glass. But there is usually a springtime source of fresh, nutritious salad greens in any area of “weeds” in your neighborhood.
Finding your Plants
It is vital to ensure that you have correctly identified any plant before you eat it. Arm yourself with a reputable plant field guide with plenty of good quality illustrations, and also a book on wild foods local to your area. If possible, join a local “Wild Food” ramble to learn to recognize what is good to eat in your area.
Avoid collecting plants from any area that may be contaminated by fumes, polluted soil or soiling by dogs. Always wash your leaves carefully in fresh water and dry in a salad spinner or with a tea towel. Eat your salad as soon as possible after collection to enjoy the flavor of an absolutely fresh plant, something we rarely experience with the carefully packaged store bought bags of salad leaves.
Preparing your Wild Salad
Chop your wild salad leaves finely with a pair of kitchen scissors in a mug, and if you wish, mix with milder ingredients such as grated carrot or finely diced cucumber. A good robust dressing, for example homemade honey and mustard dressing, is a great accompaniment to a wild food salad.
Here are some examples of plants that are good in spring salads.
Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale)
Dandelions are a common salad ingredient in France. Use only tender young leaves for your salads; a good way to find such leaves is to look for dandelion flowers in long grass and then search for the leaves on the plant below. They are often partly “blanched”, that is long, pale and tender, due to the lack of light among the thick grass. A classic French salad uses such tender dandelion leaves serves with tiny pieces of crispy sliced bacon.
Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna)
Traditionally known as “bread and butter” to English school children, the young, pale green leaves of hawthorn taste a little like lettuce, but with a more interesting texture and flavor.
Hedge garlic (Alliara petiolata)
Hedge garlic adds a pleasant mild onion to garlic flavor to your salads.
Another way to add interest to your salads using wild ingredients is to add edible flowers to your salads. And don’t forget the humble stinging nettle when foraging for wild food as nettle soup is truly delicious as well as being very nutritious.
In the UK, useful books include “Wild Food” by Roger Phillips and “Food for Free” by Richard Mabey.
