In early spring spruce trees put out their light green buds, more or less at the same time when Black Locust flowers appear. Spruce tips can be picked to make a delicious jelly, traditionally made in northern Italy. I know
SPRUCE TIP JELLY
Sushi – Maki with Goat’s beard shoots
I have some Goat’s beard (Aruncus dioicus) in my garden. Today I noticed they were nearly overgrown, so that’s the time to set up a recipe, now or never! Nature does not wait until the lockdown is over. I then
Salad burnet Pesto
Salad burnet leaves (Sanguisorba minor), have a cucumber-like flavor. A fresh and surprising taste, excellent for a quick raw pesto. For the cheese I use, in this case, the Grana Padano. Parmesan and pecorino have too strong an aroma that
DEEP FRIED WILDFLOWERS SAVORY CHIACCHERE
Flowers are blooming, meadows are gently waving in the wind, showing the vibrant violet of Salvia pratensis flowers. On my way home I see a elder tree with branches bent beneath the weight of its umbrella-like inflorescences. The scent fills
NETTLE AND DATES TRUFFLES
I can’t remember exactly when, but one day somebody asked me: “did you ever try to use green wild edibles to make cakes?”. Not, but that’s an idea! … Here the starting point of a new experimental project. So far
Chicken salad with ground elder
This is a classical recipe with a touch of wild taste from the ground elder, fresh and spicy, and a cruchy touch given from the phyllo pastry. I found some ground elder in my spring walks, and I cooked it
NETTLE MANFRIGOLE
Manfrigole is a traditional dish from Valtellina, northern Italy. They are a kind of buckwheat crespelle (crêpes), with a cheese and bresaola filling, or local seasonal ingredients. It was originally made in order to use the stale bread, because in
STINGING NETTLE AND BARBERRY MORSELS
Foraging season is nearly over, but I won’t give up. I have dried nettles and barberry. Here’s the wild finger-food!
RICOTTA WITH BLACK LOCUST FLOWERS AND SPRUCE TIPS CRUNCHY TUILES
When black locust flowering is towards the end usually spruce tips season begins. That’s how this recipe was born.. two precious baggies of flowers and spruce tips and … what do I do with them? Why not use them both
PONTACK, AN ELDERBERRY SAUCE
Elderberry, pigeons and inspiration It is still snowing outside and, while waiting for the springtime, I decided to cook some elderberries (Sambucus nigra) I froze last autumn. What to do with it? Even if my aunt asked for the jam,
DEEP FRIED BLACK LOCUST BLOSSOMS
This easy recipe is the first that comes to my mind, full of childhood memories, when I hear the sweet scent of black locust in spring. Crispy flowers, fragrant and sweet, with a slight aftertaste of fresh-cut grass. The ingredients
BLACK LOCUST AND PEACH CLAFOUTIS
Black locust flowers (Robinia pseudoacacia) Here they are! Silly spring and late Black locust flowering, this year. And now that they’re finally here I took a lot of flowers at the first opportunity. I do not feel in the least
CRESPELLE WITH HOP SHOOTS
I love wild hop shoots! Finally spring has arrived and I was caught off-guard. The first trip in my vegetable garden gave me an abundant harvest of hop shoots (Humulus lupulus) and I came back home happy as a child,
SALSIFY OPEN-FACED POLPETTONE
Meadow Salsify & Purple Salsify Botanists call them Tragopogon pratensis and Tragopogon porrifolius, but they’re commonly known as Salsify, Meadow salsify, Purple or common salsify, Oyster plant, Vegetable oyster, Goatsbeard. Purple salsify is native to Europe, common from plain to
Vegetable Broth Powder DIY
Garden Leftovers and last meadow Wild Edible Plants It’s time for Fall garden clean up: looks like my vegetable garden fell into neglect, but it’s still giving a lot of unusual ingredients with which I plan to make a homemade
Pumpkin & Horn of Plenty Mushrooms Quiche
Horn of Plenty Mushrooms (Craterellus cornucopioides) For a forager autumn is the time of mushrooms: forest has been generous in the last few days and, to my surprise, I stumbled across a wide spot of Horn of Plenty mushroom (Craterellus
BARLEY & BISTORT BALLS IN NETTLE PANÉE
Bistort (Polygonum bistorta) and stinging Nettle (Urtica dioica) Botanists call it Polygonum bistorta or Pericaria bistorta, but is often called Bistort, though many names have been used in the past: Adderwort, Dragonwort, Osterick, Easter Ledges. Young Bistort leaves are used
GOOD KING HENRY AND LAMB’S QUARTERS GNOCCHI WITH ELDERFLOWERS
Good King Henry and Lamb’s quarters Botanists call them Chenopodium bonus-henricus and Chenopodium album, but common names include Good-King-Henry, Poor-man’s Asparagus, Perennial Goosefoot, Lincolnshire Spinach, Markery, English mercury, Mercury goosefoot, and Lamb’s quarters, Melde, White goosefoot, Fat-hen and Pigweed. The
ELDERFLOWER CREPES
Elderflower scent (Sambucus nigra) Elder tree is still in bloom and, from my “forager” point of view, its scent causes me a salivation response, like Pavlov’s dogs. Pavlov’s dogs? What’s that? The Russian scientist Ivan Pavlov showed the existence of
PAN MEINO – SOURDOUGH CORNMEAL AND ELDERFLOWER BREAD
Pan Meino, what’s that? They are small, sweet breads made with cornmeal flour and elderflowers (Sambucus nigra). Pan Meino is a traditional recipe of Lombardy region, in the north of Italy. It was a kind of sweet shortcrust pastry made
