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
Sushi – Maki with Goat’s beard shoots
Urtica dioica L.
Stinging nettle it’s the queen of all the wild edibles: easy to find in great quantites, easy to pick, impossible to be mistaken with poisonous species and very easy to preserve in winter. The plant has a long history of
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
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,
Chenopodium album L.
Whatever you call it, Lamb’s Quarters, Goosefoot, Pigweed or Fat-hen, is a common annual weed traditionally used for cooking in many countries. It’s easy to recognize and it has a delicate flavor. Cooked like spinach goes well with any dish.
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
Silene vulgaris (Moench) Garcke
Bladder campion is one of the most appreciated and widely used wild edible in Italy and in the Mediterranean region. It’s easy to identify and the young shoots have a delicate flavour that pairs well with almost every other ingredient.
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
Dandelion flowers Jelly
Dandelion, blowball, lion’s-tooth, cankerwort: Taraxacum officinale Botanists call it Taraxacum officinale, but has a lot of common names because, though considered a weed by many gardeners and lawn owners, this humble plant has several culinary and medicinal uses. Every single
BLACK LOCUST DELIGHT
Robinia pseudoacacia or Black locust tree Black locust flowers are delicious, sweet and aromatic. Black locust tree is, for us europeans, an invasive species (native to United States, imported back in 1600), naturalized now in many parts of Europe. I
Crustless Common Hogweed Quiches
Common Hogweed Hogweed is undoubtedly a worthwhile edible wild plant: it’s delicious and tastes vaguely like celery, its perfume reminds me carrot leaves, but has a distinctive, delicate flavour. Hogweed has a taste like nothing else. Botanists call it Heracleum sphondylium,
