Celebrate spring with this Wild Green Goddess recipe. It's a sumptuous way to incorporate wild edibles into meals. Here I share my master recipe — may it bring uncultivated deliciousness into the world.
Wild Green Goddess in The Spring Master Recipe
Thick, rich and flavorful, Goddess dressings go well with milder-tasting ingredients such as cultivated lettuces, cucumbers and hardboiled eggs. Tasty as dipping sauces for burgers, fries, or chopped vegetables, they are excellent spread onto sandwiches or served with seafood. Or use goddess dressings in place of mayonnaise when making tuna, egg, potato, and chicken salads. Be sure to use the best -quality oils and homemade mayonnaise to make these delicious and healthful. The wild plants in this recipe are available in early spring and throughout most of the growing season. Feel free to use different wild greens, or even store-bought ones for that matter; summer and cultivated versions follow.
Makes 2¼ cups (18 oz)
- 1 cup (1½ oz by weight) violet leaf, coarsely chopped
- 1 cup (1½ oz by weight) garlic mustard leaf, coarsely chopped
- 2 tablespoon wild bergamot leaf, coarsely chopped
- 4 tablespoon sweet cicely leaf, coarsely chopped
- 3 field garlic bulbs, or 1 clove of garlic, chopped
- 4 oz olive oil (preferably cold-pressed, organic and unrefined)
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 10 oz mayonnaise (see our recipe here)
- Sea salt and pepper to taste
Purée greens, garlic bulbs, lemon juice, and olive oil in food processor. Place mayonnaise in a bowl and mix in purée. Salt and pepper to taste.
Violet Plant Map from Foraging & Feasting: A Field Guide and Wild Food Cookbook by Dina Falconi; illustrated by Wendy Hollender http://bit.ly/1Auh44Q
Sweet Cicely Plant Map from Foraging & Feasting: A Field Guide and Wild Food Cookbook by Dina Falconi; illustrated by Wendy Hollender http://bit.ly/1Auh44Q
Wild Green Goddess in The Summer This is a tangy, summer version.
- 1 cup (1½ oz by weight) wood or sheep sorrel leaf, coarsely chopped
- 1 cup (1½ oz by weight) lamb’s quarter leaf, coarsely chopped
- 2 tablespoon wild bergamot leaf, coarsely chopped
- 1 tablespoon gill-over-the-ground leaf, coarsely chopped
- 2 Egyptian onion aerial bulblets, or 1 clove of garlic, chopped
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- ½ cup (4 oz) olive oil, preferably cold-pressed, organic and unrefined
- 10 oz mayonnaise (see our recipe here )
- Sea salt and pepper to taste
Purée greens, onion bulbs, lemon juice, and olive oil in food processor. Place mayonnaise in a bowl and mix in purée. Salt and pepper to taste.
Wild Green Variations: Use different wild greens in place of the sorrel and lamb’s quarter, such as young yellow dock leaves, young dame’s rocket leaves, chickweed, purple dead nettle, mallow, purslane, or watercress.
Egyptian Onion Plant Map from Foraging & Feasting: A Field Guide and Wild Food Cookbook by Dina Falconi; illustrated by Wendy Hollender http://bit.ly/1Auh44Q
Tame Green Goddess Use cultivated plants in place of the wild ones for another delicious version.
- 1 cup (1½ oz by weight) arugula, coarsely chopped
- 1 cup (1½ oz by weight) watercress, coarsely chopped
- 2 tablespoons fresh oregano leaf, coarsely chopped
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, coarsely chopped
- ½ small shallot or 1 small clove of garlic, chopped
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- ½ cup (4 oz) olive oil, preferably cold-pressed, organic and unrefined
- 10 oz mayonnaise (see our recipe here)
- Sea salt and pepper to taste
Purée greens, shallot, lemon juice, and olive oil in food processor. Place mayonnaise in a bowl and mix in purée. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Tame Leafy Green Variations: Use different cultivated leafy greens in place of the arugula and watercress, such as kale, mizuna, tatsoi, garden sorrel, spinach, or nasturtium leaf.
Aromatic Culinary Herb Variations: Use the leaves of different aromatic culinary herbs in place of the oregano and parsley, such as basil, chervil, cilantro, dill, fennel greens, savory, tarragon or thyme.