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Hedgerow Salad

Ancient Hedgerow Salad various wild greens are available throughout the year and this recipe makes the most of spring greens and flowers, just as our ancestors would have done. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic traditional version of a Hedgerow Salad.

prep time

20 minutes

cook time

20 minutes

Total Time:

40 minutes

Serves:

6–8

Rating:

Tags : Wild FoodVegetarian RecipesBritish Recipes

Though little evidence about the vegetables eaten by the ancient peoples of Britain survive we do know from pollen evidence that all the ingredients below existed in Britain during ancient times. It's hard to conceive that these hedgerow and woodland plants weren't eaten as a free source of food. The recipe itself is modelled on an Elizabethan recipe but with several changes. This is really a springtime salad as many of the ingredients are only truly available in the spring.

As always, if you're not completely certain in recognizing a wild plant, do not pick it. However, this basic guide to wild edible plants is provided as a basic guide.

Ingredients:

Sheep's Sorrel leaves picked and coarsely chopped (as sorrel contains oxalic acid which is mildly toxic use sparingly or substitute with cultivated sorrel)
Ramson leaves shredded (or use chives)
chopped lady's bedstraw or northern bedstraw
young hawthorn leaves
young dandelion leaves
primrose flowers
gorse flowers
violet flowers
a few violet leaves
sweet cicely leaves
violet flowers
reedmace shoots
marsh samphire
broom buds
dandelion flowers
chickweed greens
Hedge mustard (also known as Jack-by-the-hedge) leaves.
A handful of hazelnuts, chopped (this would have been an excellent way of using-up any winter surplus) or you could use beech nuts.

Method:

This salad can be made with whatever is at hand and can be foraged, so the following is merely a suggestion and you can build your own dish.

Preparation is simply a case of washing the leaves and flowers, adding to a bowl and tossing to mix them thoroughly. Sprinkle with the hazelnuts and then serve.