Nettle Soup and Dandelion Salad

The other night I went to see Robin Hood. My ears pricked up and I had to smile when Maid Marion was out plowing and bitching about how there was no grain to plant because it had all been designated to the King or Pope or someone and the community was having to subsist on Nettle Soup and Dandelion Salad! I thought, Hey, wait a minute, isn't that the new gourmet stuff? Isn't that what we made for our chef showcase last year? Isn't wild food, foraging, bitter greens and medicinal herbs what being a therapeutic chef is all about? I think it's interesting that we are coming back to our roots, literally, as hunters, gatherers, foragers, healers, survivors. The stuff that grows without being planted and cultivated. The stuff that re-seeds itself and thrives in a diverse community of animal, vegetable and mineral companions. They're called WEEDS. My yard is full of volunteer nettles, dandelions, mint, wild onions, sourgrass, purslane, lemon balm, chicory and other delicacies. I let them be, because they keep nutrients in the soil, protect against erosion, need no watering, attract pollinating birds, butterflies and bees along with the California Natives I've introduced and the naturalized Euro figs, olives, grapes, persimmons, pomegranates, lemons that I get to harvest from my neighbors' yards every year. If I was a little closer to the coast, I'd revel in gathering seaweeds, those nutrient rich and salty flavor powerhouses!

Admit it, didn't you always want to live like Marion and Robin and the merry men of Sherwood Forest? We all may have our adventure fantasies come true sooner that later, as "food" takes on more and more bionic properties and we lose complete touch with how to live, grow things, find edibles, make medicine, clothes, dwellings, families, communities, civilization. I secretly dream of the life of the outlaw, the gypsy, the selkie, the witch, the spinner, dyer, weaver, basketmaker, builder, the gleaner.

Maybe that's why I keep close to the farmer's markets and gardeners around me. Although, there is something ironic about seeing dandelions, nettles and miner's lettuce and even collards for sale along with the gourmet salad greens and hybrid strawberries. Everything was wild once. Everything came from some kind of diversity rich community and knew how to survive its particular habitat. Even us.

Here's a couple of recipes you can try with your Spring foragings.

Creamy Nettle and New Potato Soup

makes 4 servings

1 large handful of wild onion bulbs (1 large yellow onion, diced)

1/2 cup of wild ramps bulbs (2 cloves of garlic, minced)

1 T. fresh churned butter

2 C. tiny new potatoes, left whole, with skins on (can also use celery root, cauliflower, parsnip)

handful of miner's lettuce, chopped (handful of Italian parsley, rough chopped)

several pepperwood kernals (pinch of ground black pepper)

pinch of dried, ground sea palm (pinch of sea salt)

2 C. whole nettles, chopped and thick stems removed (wear gloves!)

3 cups of water, broth or stock

Heat skillet to low medium heat. Add butter until melted. Add onions and garlic and sauté slowly for 10 or 15 minutes until soft, not browned. Add potatoes and sauté for a few more minutes. Add miner's lettuce, salt and pepper and sauté until flavors are blended. Slowly add water and bring to a low simmer. Simmer until potatoes are soft. Add nettles and simmer until they soften. Adjust seasonings. To make a creamy spring green soup, use immersion blender to purée. Serve with a generous grinding of fresh pepper on each bowl.

Dandelion Green Salad

makes 4 servings

1 large bunch of dandelion leaves, end of stems trimmed up to leaf, chopped in forkful sized pieces

1 large handful of arugula

1 handful of pea shoots

1 handful of buckwheat or other colorful sprouts

1/2 C. wild strawberries (or the smallest, reddest, sweetest ones you can find)

1/2 C. olive oil

2 T. balsamic vinegar

1/2 orange, juiced

1/2 tsp. fine chopped fresh rosemary

drop of honey

pinch of salt

grind of pepper

Combine greens in large salad bowl. Drizzle olive oil, vinegar, orange juice over greens and toss until fully coated. Sprinkle herbs, honey, salt and pepper across salad. Toss again. Add strawberries (sliced if need be). Serve immediately.