Home of edible weed walks in Melbourne, and the publication:
The Weed Forager's Handbook: A Guide to Edible and Medicinal Weeds in Australia

Month: August 2019 (Page 1 of 2)

weedy green smoothie

Weedy Green Smoothie

3 Aug 2019 /

Serves 2

This may be the healthiest thing you can eat. Ever. Call it Monster Powers Juice and it is a brilliant way to get kids to eat masses of greens. For the slightly more mature amongst us it also seems to do a quite nice job on a mild hangover. Mix it up by adding grated ginger or chopped mint.

1 medium and properly ripe banana (frozen is especially nice)
1 medium orange or half a mango – or use a whole mango and skip the banana
1 cup water
½ to 1 cup, depending on preference, of mixed weeds. Cleavers, dandelion (keep this one minimal if you dislike bitter flavours), sow thistle, chickweed, nettle, plantain, and mallow all work well). Avoid fennel, nasturtium and more than a skerrick of purslane in this context, as their strong flavours will really take over.

  1. Wash and de-stem all weeds, and chop across the grain. Peel and slice orange, removing any pips, and break banana into chunks.
  2. Place all ingredients into a blender and whizz until smooth.

Notes: It really helps to have a powerful blender or you’ll never get it all nice and creamy. If you don’t want to spend the family inheritance on the industry go-to Vitamix, check out something like their cheaper rivals Optimum, Omniblend or Logik Octablend. There will be compromises with longevity, but the blend is good with any of these.

dandelion salad

Dandelion, Pear and Walnut Salad

2 Aug 2019 /

Serves 4 as a side dish

1 ripe but still firm pear or a crisp, tart red or pink apple
½ cup walnuts
4 spring onions
1 cup of gently-compressed dandelion greens

Dressing
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1½ tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard
salt and pepper

  1. Lightly toast walnuts and allow to fully cool.
  2. Make the dressing.
  3. Cut the pear into centimeter-wide wedges. (If using apple, also then cut the wedges into sections about a half a centimeter wide). Put them into your salad bowl and toss in a little of the dressing to prevent browning.
  4. Finely chop the spring onion, then wash and dry the dandelion greens and chop them roughly across the grain. Add both to the salad bowl.
  5. Add the walnuts and the rest of the dressing and mix before serving.
dandelion caper salad

Southern-Italian Dandelion Salad

2 Aug 2019 /

Serves 2

1 cup of gently-compressed dandelion greens
4 eggs, hardboiled until yolks are firm but still tender
2 thick slices of good quality bread – stale is best

Dressing
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1½ tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon capers
1 clove crushed garlic
salt and pepper

1. Wash and dry the dandelion greens, then chop them roughly across the grain

nice dandy leaves
remove the stem
chop against the grain

2. Peel the eggs and cut them into halves or quarters.
3. Tear or cut the bread into chunks and toast under a griller or in a tray in the oven until golden brown and crunchy.
4. Make your dressing.
5. Assemble all ingredients in a bowl and enjoy!

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