The Carol Wildcrafted Salad Recipe
The Carol Wildcrafted Salad topped with Raspberry Vinaigrette
is sure to be one you file in a DIY organizer
like our Herberie Recipe Album.
Wildcrafting is defined as the gathering of plants (often greens) from their natural or “wild” habitat. Normally this is done for culinary or medicinal purposes. Perhaps it is a throwback to our early ancestors who were foragers as well as planters that we annually scour the outdoors to find nature’s bounty. Wild greens have better flavor when gathered early in the spring while they are still young and tender. March is a good month to begin harvesting from nature’s “salad bowl” if your taste buds yearn for food that can be a bit piquant in nature.
University of Missouri
The “Herberie” Recipe Album
Our “Herberie” Recipe Album commemorates a dear friend. Some friendships just deserve to be remembered in a tangible way, especially if you lose that friend far too soon.
Carol was a nature-girl. She grew up in a small town, but when she married and moved to a farm very near wild country, she came “home.” She loved having her house in the middle of the forest, where she could walk out and harvest wild beauty to transplant in her own magnificent yard.
It’s not easy to uproot wild plants and grow them successfully in a domestic garden, but Carol could.
Her yard was an adventurous mix of wild and cultivated flowers, annuals and perennials, with something always in abundant bloom.
And her vegetable garden… Well, I’ll just say, I grew up with a mother who grew a huge garden every year, but I never knew you could have a garden like Carol’s. Her talents for gardening reflected one of the most artistic souls I have ever known.
That art came into her house, too. Woodsy, twiggy wreaths hung over her mantle long before the blogging world discovered DIY. She could have written all the tutorials you could wish for on decorating with nature.
In winter her house smelled of pine branches, cinnamon and cedar. Every table, fireplace mantel, and kitchen space was adorned with festive branches and berries.
I absolutely loved sinking deep into her sofa with a luxe throw, breathe in the scents, stare into the fire, and nearly doze off while the rest visited. One tended to get lethargic after one of her delicious meals.
Meals that always included fresh goodness of some sort. I don’t know if she actually ever gathered greens from the woods for her salads, but it wouldn’t surprise me. Her salads were always unique and delicious.
This Carol Wildcrafted Salad Recipe is perfect for the Herberie recipe album:
Wildcrafted Salad With Raspberry Vinaigrette
Some commonly found wild greens to incorporate into a salad are watercress, dandelion, ramp leaves, plantain, chickweed, wood sorrel, garlic mustard, lamb’s quarters, bee balm, and wild mint. I can’t claim to know anything about foraging for greens, other than in a domestic garden. Your local Agricultural University website should have greens listed that could be found in your neck of the woods.
Make your salad with common garden variety greens, then add any wild greens you have available as accent.
Toast nuts and seeds to sprinkle on top of your greens. Fruits and berries are a great addition, too.
This salad doesn’t have a recipe. Create your mix, then top it with this superb dressing.
Raspberry Vinaigrette Dressing
Ingredients
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tsp brown sugar
- 2 tsp raspberry vinegar
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
- 1 tbsp chopped fresh basil
- 1/2 cup fresh raspberries
Instructions
- Place all ingredients into blender and process until smooth and creamy.
- Add salt and pepper to taste as you toss the dressing with salad.
Would you try the Carol Wildcrafted Salad Recipe?
Which edible wild greens grow in your area?
This sounds interesting being able to forage for salad. I love salads and would love to try one of these picked from nature. But around here theirs to much poisons used. 😔
Yes, that is the case in too many areas anymore, isn’t it? Carol and I grew up in Canada, and she lived even closer to deep woods than I did. I don’t know how much she used wild edible greens, more for decor and plantings. Fascinating idea, though, right?