I've been into "wild foraging" for almost 20 years. I've enjoyed many years of trudging through meadows, forests and hillsides with a worn guide-book in hand and bags dangling from my shoulder with promises of yummy meals to come! And yummy meals, they have been! More to come on this topic! To check out my post about what is growing in my yard at home, click here.
In July 2014, in Toronto, as an organizing committee member of the annual International Herb Association (info here) conference, I had an extraordinary opportunity.
We wanted to create an evening to remember, showcasing wild foods from the area, with the help of 5 * chefs at the Eaton Chelsea Toronto.
(http://www.chelsea.eatonhotels.com)
I gathered some recipe ideas together **, and met with Executive sous Chef Gaurav Kapoor (GK) to plan our feast!
I can't begin to tell you about our 7 hour meeting. Initially I am certain, GK must have thought that I was truly certifiable. "You want me to create an entire meal from WEEDS?", he asked with a look of panic.
Of course, I smiled, sweetly, and told him that we could do this. I know I sounded very sure of myself.. and at the time, I needed to be, as ONE of us needed to believe it was possible!
As an herbalist who has made countless meals for 4-8 people, incorporating wild food, I have some experience. But…. We were talking about the creation of a 3-4 course sit-down dinner for 80+ people!
The audience? Herbalists and plant people from all over North America! Eventually, as ideas flew around the table,
a plan began to fall into place.
Gaurav Kapoor aka GK ~ Exec sous Chef Eaton Chelsea, Toronto
The biggest issue? With such large quantities of wild greens needed, where would we ever find all of this "freshly picked" food at the exact moment it was needed?
To the rescue, local wild edibles expert,
Karen Stephenson! Karen, already booked to present a talk about wild edibles, kindly agreed to work with us to pick bags and bags of assorted fresh greens, to be available just before our conference.
Karen, who conducts wild edible walks locally, spent hours making it possible! Her website is filled with great pics and helpful wild edibles information. Access it here.
My dear friend Amy Taylor and I worked on fine-tuning it all and created a plan with Chef GK to bring it all together. I will eventually share the entire meal with you but wanted to start out with my own personal favourite dishes. On the menu, that evening, we were treated to this:
WILD GREENS DUO
Don't let all the ingredients fool you. These are easy recipes. I hope that you are inspired to try them. Please let me know if you do!!
(there are many more choices. What's in your area?)
Add stock (preferably chicken, but otherwise vegetable )
Season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Put one more sheet on top and continue the process till three sheets are stacked.
Place ½ teaspoon of goat cheese in the centre plus
1 tablespoon of the greens mixture atop the goat cheese.
Bake at 300 degrees F. for 8 minutes.
If making this recipe and know that you will freeze a portion of it. Tip: for the ones to be frozen, squeeze a little extra moisture out of the greens before adding to the goat cheese.
Olive oil 20 ml
Garlic, minced – 10 grams
White onion sliced – 50 gr
Chicken stock – 2 litres
Spinach – 100 gr
Wild greens* – 200 gr
Potato- 100 gm(peeled and diced)
Butter – 120 gr
Cream – 120 ml
Sea Salt – to taste
Thyme - fresh – 2 sprigs
Black pepper -fresh ground - to taste
* greens --> Plantain, Violet leaves, Wild grape leaves, Goosefoot, Amaranth, Garlic Mustard, Chickweed
METHOD:
Saute garlic in oil and half the butter
Add sliced onions to it. Sauté till onions are translucent .
Add chicken stock , diced potatoes, thyme and seasoning
Boil it for around 15 minutes and then add wild greens in to it .
Simmer until greens are soft and potato is cooked .
Add spinach and buzz them all together with a hand-held blender
Once it is boiled add chilled butter and cream .
Stir it until butter is emulsified .
Strain through a fine sieve and serve hot.
**ideas for the dinner came from long-time foraging friends Leda Meredith, Melana Hiatt, local Toronto vegetarian chef Nettie Cronish and IHA's beloveds Pat Crocker and Susan Belsinger.
Please share the IDEA of wild greens with YOUR friends. We can ALL benefit from a little more WILD in our lives! Green blessings to all..
Elaina
I can only imagine how yummy and nutritious that meal was, and the look on the chef's face when you first set down the challenge, hahaha.
Emily @ Recipes to Nourish
Wow! It sounds like you had quite the experience! That wild greens soup sounds amazing!
Megan Stevens
The recipes sound great! Love those wild greens!
Anna@GreenTalk
Amazing! I am a huge fan of garlic mustard. They make the most divine vinegar dressing.
Raia Todd
Fun! My 10-year-old daughter would LOVE this. She's always foraging around for stuff in our backyard and bringing me salad ingredients. :)
Mira
I must admit, creating an entire meal of “weed” does sound intimidating! You did a wonderful job! :)
linda spiker
Wow Carol! What a fun experience! I love attending events like this one. I always feel inspired after.