This article is among a series I’ve created focused on foraging wild spring greens. If you’re new to foraging, I encourage you to check out my other article on the topic, A Beginner’s Guide To Foraging Spring Greens. You may also enjoy my Wild Green Pesto recipe, something that has become a staple in my house.
This particular recipe is adapted from one found in Pascal Baudar’s book, The New Wildcrafted Cuisine. I use this recipe as a base for most of my soups, stews and braises and in any cooking liquid for rice, beans, etc. Add a dollop on wild game or fish, root vegetables, pasta or eggs. It’s very salty, so adjust or eliminate the salt in your recipes according to your taste. The salted greens can be stored in jars or freezer bags. I sprinkle a layer of salt in the bottom of each sterilized jar or bag and fill them with the salted greens, topping them with another sprinkle of salt. Close the container tightly, and store it in the freezer. The great thing about having such a high salt content is that it never freezes solid, so you can open a bag or a jar and scoop out a portion as needed without thawing. Pascal recommends waiting three to four weeks before using. I’ve not found this essential, though it does get better with age.
Salted Wild Greens
Ingredients:
- 1 part salt (sea or kosher)
- 4 parts rough-chopped greens
- Example from Maine in order of quantity: lamb’s quarters - chickweed - dandelion - garlic mustard - wintercress - sorrel.
Cooking Instructions:
- Add greens in layers to a large bowl and mix by hand until evenly mixed.
- Depending on the volume of your batch, add to a blender all at once or in batches.
- Pulse until you have a rough paste; you can continue to blend for a finer puree if you want.
- The original recipe calls for putting the mixture back into the bowl with its liquid and to keep covered in the fridge for 8 hours. I have done it with and without this step and not noticed a difference.
- Store the paste in either sterilized ½-pint and pint jars or freezer bags.
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