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Autumn Wild Harvested Salad

Category: Culture >> Cooking/Recipes
Tied Species:Stellaria media, Nasturtium officinale, Persicaria maculosa, Allium vineale, Helianthus tuberosus, Juglans nigra,
Ecoregions:Eco-324, Eco-785, Eco-696, Eco-778, Eco-322, Eco-792, Eco-325, Eco-779, Eco-390, Eco-380, Eco-344, Eco-675, Eco-338, Eco-786, Eco-639, Eco-326, Eco-634, Eco-352, Eco-346, Eco-41, Eco-327, Eco-379, Eco-318, Eco-357, Eco-315, Eco-791, Eco-642, Eco-313, Eco-411, Eco-780, Eco-661, Eco-312, Eco-320, Eco-705, Eco-632, Eco-38, Eco-328, Eco-314, Eco-332, Eco-662, Eco-636, Eco-391, Eco-651, Eco-635, Eco-666, Eco-677, Eco-781, Eco-381, Eco-321, Eco-663, Eco-345, Eco-646,

Updated: Thu Apr 11 2024

Disclaimer: This content is for educational purposes only. Before consuming anything make sure you have properly identified it and speak to a professional about any possible effects.

Just a quick little wild salad available before winter sets in.

All of the ingredients are pretty common and can be found in open places quite close to where people live. They are all also easily grown in your backyard, although a walnut tree can take up some space. Many of the ingredients, or a similar variety, may also be found for sale in stores or markets and this may be an easier choice for some.

When it comes to watercress in particular, you may want to purchase or cultivate it. Since it grows in water, you want to be sure that the water source isn't contaminated in any way to avoid illness.

You might be familiar with all of these common plants already, but I've added some photos and context below.

But first! The quick recipe.

Ingredients

  • Stellaria media - chickweed: 1 cup
  • Nasturtium officinale - watercress: 1 cup
  • Persicaria maculosa - lady's thumb: 1/2 cup leaves and flowers
  • Allium vineale - wild garlic: 1/2 cup leaves(look like shoots or grass)
  • Helianthus tuberosus - Jerusalem artichoke: 3/4 cup thinly sliced tubers
  • Juglans nigra - black walnut: 1/2 cup chopped nuts (or hazelnuts, pine nuts, any other nut on hand)

For me this makes a nice side salad or small meal. I would probably recommend adding your dressing of choice, and maybe some sort of dried berries to round it out.

Chop everything into whatever size you are feeling.

Jerusalem artichoke doesn't need to be cooked if it is thinly sliced and adds some nice crisp crunch. If cooked it turns more potato-like.

If harvesting your own walnuts beware of the outer hull that when crushed will stain just about everything it touches, including your hands.

I'm not going to go into species identification here but I will give a few notes below. These are nice beginner species to ID as they are all pretty distinct without harmful look-alikes, so pick up a field guide if wild harvesting.

There are many species of chickweed all of which are edible and similar looking.

There are also some other species in the same family as lady's thumb called the smartweeds which can be similar, but are all edible with varying degrees of peppery flavor.

Wild garlic also has some similar relatives which are edible. The smell of onions should be obvious when crushed.

Tubers and nuts of Jerusalem artichoke and walnut respectively are quite distinct.

Enjoy!

flower of stellaria media
Stellaria media - Chickweed. Daniel Das, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.
cluster of stellara media
Stellaria media - Chickweed. Evelyn Simak, CC BY-SA 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
flower of nasturtium officinale
Nasturtium officinale - Watercress. Patrick Hacker, CC BY 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
nasturtium officinale growing in water
Nasturtium officinale - Watercress. Stefan.lefnaer, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
thumb print design on persicaria maculosa leaves
Persicaria maculosa - Lady's Thumb. Enrico Blasutto, CC BY-SA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
persicaria maculosa plant
Persicaria maculosa - Lady's Thumb. Lairich Rig / Redshank.
allium vineale seed pod
Allium vineale - Wild Garlic. Jay Sturner from USA, CC BY 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
clump of allium vineale
Allium vineale - Wild Garlic. Famartin, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
flower of helianthus tuberosus
Helianthus tuberosus - Jerusalem Artichoke. Uwe W., CC BY-SA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
helianthus tuberosus plant
Helianthus tuberosus - Jerusalem Artichoke. Paul Fenwick, CC BY-SA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
tuber of helianthus tuberosus
Helianthus tuberosus - Jerusalem Artichoke. Salicyna, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
tubers of heliantus tuberosus
Helianthus tuberosus - Jerusalem Artichoke. Lupus~huwiki, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
cluster of juglans nigra nuts and leaves
Juglans nigra - Black Walnut.
juglan nigra nuts at varying stages of ripeness
Juglans nigra - Black Walnut. Schurdl, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
juglans nigra nut without the hull
Juglans nigra - Black Walnut. Derek Ram, CC BY-SA 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/, via Wikimedia Commons.

References

Brill, S., & Dean, E. (1994). Identifying and harvesting edible and medicinal plants in wild (and not so wild) places. Harper.


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