Wild edible flowers and plants are everywhere in spring.
It's time to pick them and eat them raw in a salad.
Picking is a fun way to eat healthy and economical.
As soon as the beautiful spring days arrive, I jump at the chance to go for a walk in the forest, or at the edge of the ponds and do my shopping.
A little picking and my plate as much as my stomach are filled.
Last weekend, I found lots of culinary wonders there:
- nettle leaves first (classic)
- dandelion leaves and flowers
- small new hazelnut leaves
- violet leaves and flowers
- Cardamine leaves from the meadows
- ground ivy leaves and flowers
- and chickweed leaves
1. I first separate the flowers from the leaves in two bowls. For dandelions, I only take the yellow of the flowers and then the smaller leaves. For violets like that, I only take the smallest leaves and I'm careful not to break my flowers too much so that my salad is all cute, all flowery.
2. I collect all the leaves of my wild plants in a colander and rinse them with lukewarm water and vinegar.
3. Er... that's it, it's already ready :p!
I serve a little salad on each plate, put some edible flowers on it, like here my dandelion petals and my violet flowers.
I season with a drizzle of olive oil and a few drops of lemon and voila :) I fill up with minerals, vitamins and trace elements and all that for free!
If the salad is not to everyone's taste when you are not used to it, the alternative to the strainer will however be unanimous.
I mix all my wild plant leaves and mix them with cottage cheese. I then add salt, pepper and a little garlic and olive oil as well as the dandelion flowers and violets. And There you go. Served as a starter with a good slice of bread, it's a treat.
Do you already use wild plants in your daily cooking? Come discuss it with me in the comments. I will be delighted to exchange recipes and impressions with you.
Knowing how to recognize good weeds and edible wild plants is a good way to protect your health and your wallet. Nature offers us everything we need and all you have to do is help yourself, for free.
Did you know that wild plants like nettle are much richer in vitamins and minerals than vegetables or fruit?
This is also why if you don't usually consume it, you may have some stomach problems the first few times if you consume too much at once. Take it little by little and maybe this original diet will become a habit.
