With Spring/Summer finally arriving in the UK the wild flowers, wild garlic and other wild edibles are out in force for the Bees and Butterflies to enjoy, but its not only the insects that can enjoy natures garden, we can too! Try my natural salad from the meadow and literally taste summers goodness. Remember to only pick what you are going to eat and only pick what you can safely identify as an edible.
Natures Salad
Ingredients
Small handful of Pansy’s (6)
Teaspoon of Poppy seeds
Tablespoon of Sunflower seeds
Small handful of Viola’s (6)
Dandelions (6)
2 fresh radishes
Handful of wild garlic leaves
Handful of fresh mint
Handful of mixed salad leaf
Teaspoon of wholegrain mustard
Large glug of extra virgin olive oil
Teaspoon of balsamic vinegar
1 slice of rustic farmhouse loaf
Note: When picking wildflowers and plants always be 100% sure of what they are to ensure you don’t pick a poisonous variety. You should only ever pick what you need, there is no point picking a bucket full if you’re only going to use a handful and end up throwing the rest away.
Method
Start by roughly chopping up your garlic leaves and mint. Slice your radishes as thin as you can get them. In a bowl place in your mixed salad leaves along with your garlic, mint and radishes. In a separate bowl make a dressing using the whole grain mustard, olive oil and balsamic vinegar season with S’n’P if required. Take your slice of rustic loaf and drizzle with a little olive oil and toast in a pan both sides until crispy. Remove from the heat and roughly cut into cubes to make croutons and add them to the salad bowl. Now add the sunflower seeds, the heads and leaves of the dandelions plus a drizzle of your dressing and gently mix together. Put your salad into your chosen bowl and garnish with the pansy and viola heads with a sprinkle of poppy seeds to finish.
‘’Now sit back in the meadow with the sun on your face a glass of iced lemon water or crisp white wine and enjoy a fresh healthy salad provided by mother nature’’.
Cooking Wild 