I wanted to cook with the foraged food as quickly as possible, to minimize the amount of time between the soil and my belly. I used a couple of tips that the “Wildman” mentioned on the tour, and adapted them to my kitchen and pantry.

I made a salad using some greens I had purchased at the Farmer’s Market, and augmented it with the baby dandelions, hedge mustard, and goutweed, as well as chopped wild carrots and evening primrose root (which tastes like radish), all from the foraging tour. The vinaigrette was both simple and delicious. It consisted of a half of a shallot (also from the Farmer’s Market) finely chopped, and the finely chopped root of the mustard garlic (gathered on the tour), which tastes of wasabi. Salt, pepper, lemon juice, rice wine vinegar, and olive oil completed the dressing. It was all refreshing, the carrots and evening primrose adding an earthy sweetness to the salad, and the mustard root added a nice bite to the dressing.

Next i concentrated on side dishes. I blanched the day lilies in some salted water for about 30 seconds, as the “Wildman” said they tasted like green beans. After they cooked, I shocked them in cold water to stop the cooking and set the color. They were very good, the texture almost like the green part of the scallion but with a much milder, green taste. In a large saute pan over medium heat, I added the other half of the shallot, chopped, some of the field garlic from the tour, and some chili flakes, and then added large handfuls of curly dock (gathered lakeside) and a little salt. Of course I washed everything very well, but the dock was especially important to wash as it has an enzyme which can numb your mouth (according to the “Wildman”). When it had wilted down, I added a bit of the pasta water (see below) for moisture and salt. This came out great, the curly dock takes on an almost lemony flavor when cooked, while still retaining their spinach-like texture.

For the main course I made a pesto (in my handy one-touch food processor) with a large handful of the mustard garlic instead of basil (the “Wildman” suggested a pesto on the tour). First I used the processor to chop up some toasted walnuts. Then I added the mustard garlic, some salt and pepper, and some olive oil to help it blend. Last came some grated parmesan cheese and lots more olive oil. When the mixture reached the right texture I checked the seasoning (it needed a touch more salt), then topped it off with olive oil and let it sit. I cooked some fettucini in the same water I used for the day lilies (and used the same water for the curly dock). When the pasta was cooked, I drained it well and returned it to the hot (dry) pan, off the heat. The pesto went on top, and the whole thing was tossed well. The mustard garlic was delicious, retaining its sharpness and its raw grassy flavor, wonderfully complementing the nuttiness of the walnuts and the saltiness of the cheese.

This ended up being one of the best meals I’ve cooked in a while. There are several reasons why I think this is. The ingredients were at the peak of freshness, having been harvested literally hours before cooking. There was also the intrinsic pride in having foraged the ingredients myself. Perhaps most importantly, the fact that I had worked so hard to get the ingredients made me treat them with the utmost care, something that most of us don’t bother to do these days with bought food. Foraging for food made me look at the way I ate, and think about the way I ate, in a way that I never had before. This is, I think, the most important reason to forage your own food.

Click here to read more about “Wildman” Steve Brill and to look for a tour near you.

Read about foraging the food in Part 1.

Posted by Howard

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