Wild herbs at the end of winter

Wild officinal herbs: how to identify, harvest, and…eat them!

As the fields still lie barren, and the last snow is melting away, foragers of edible wild herbs know that amidst the dry and burnt herbs of harsh winter and the still damp, cold ground, delightful little greens are sprouting.

Why not dedicate a few hours to a wholesome and invigorating nature walk, aiming to do the grocery shopping right there in the field?

Armed with just a basket and a knife, breathing in the fresh air that tells of the anticipated return of spring!

During this period, nature provides us with herbs that best suit the needs of our bodies: after the long winter, where life tends to be sedentary and indoors, and diets often consist of fats and sugars, our bodies need to rejuvenate and replenish, just like the plants around us are doing now.

These wild herbs of the season aid us in this process, reminding us with their distinctly bitter taste, attributed to active principles that stimulate liver function. Consequently, they help eliminate toxins accumulated during the winter, stimulate fat metabolism, and support cellular renewal.

Many of these herbs are usually considered weeds as they infest gardens, crops, and thrive in marginal and uncultivated environments.

Harvest them by cutting at the base of the basal rosette, inserting the knife blade into the soil to cut a part of the fleshy root.

Of course, it’s best to avoid excessive harvesting and instead, protect our plants, ensuring a steady supply.

They can be eaten raw, especially when collected after winter frosts when they are small and tender. Alternatively, sauté them in a pan with oil and garlic, or follow a traditional Emilian recipe: dress them raw with sizzling pancetta cooked with garlic and vinegar…a true delicacy!

Which wild herbs are in season?

Typical wild herbs during this period are bitter herbs often referred to as “field chicory.”

Among these are the tender spring shoots of many plants, such as the beautiful Daisy (Bellis perennis).

The common Sow Thistle (Picris hieracioides) and the Chicory (Sonchus oleraceus, – S.arvensis – S.asper), also known as “crespino” or “attaccalepre” because young hares seek it. It is excellent both in salads and, when more mature, blanched in boiling water and then seasoned.

and the Smooth Hawk’s-beard (Crepis vesicaria), named so because, once collected, its leaves close into a fist around the root.

Also part of the mix is the Goat’s Beard (Tragopogon pratensis) or Meadow Salsify, great both raw and cooked,

along with the tasty Cat’s Ear (Hypochoeris radicata) and, of course, the exquisite Corn Salad (Valerianella holitoria), with various Italian names like “gallinella,” “dolciolina,” or “radicchiella dei campi,” a tender and sweet herb present just after the first frosts, excellent in salads and even cultivated in gardens.

Less loved but equally good is the Dandelion (Taraxacum officinalis), also called “lion’s tooth” or “blowball.” Despite the unjust belief associated with its name, it is a precious ally for its detoxifying and liver-protecting properties.

Also present is the Chicory (Cichorium intybus), the forerunner of cultivated salads, with beautiful lilac flowers lasting only one day and a bitter taste that stimulates stomach and liver functions.

Most of these herbs belong to the Asteraceae or Compositeae family, which includes famous members like the daisy, sunflower, and gerbera, as well as various chicories and garden salads. They all share the characteristic of having flowers composed of numerous tiny florets. Each inflorescence is formed by hundreds of small and humble flowers that, when gathered, become much more attractive to pollinating insects.

These delicious wild herbs develop, during the winter, a basal rosette of leaves, more or less fleshy, elongated, lobed, or jagged. Often, they have a taproot that, as in the case of dandelion and chicory, is boiled and eaten seasoned with oil and salt or roasted and ground to make a bitter coffee substitute. 

In spring, the leaves at the base gradually lose vitality and dry as the plant expends all its energy to produce an inflorescence, typically yellow in most species.

That’s why, after winter, these exquisite field chicories seem to disappear: devoid of their “appetizing” leaves but adorned with showy flowers, they become truly unrecognizable!

Their cycle concludes shortly after when, following pollination, hundreds of florets transform into hundreds of small seeds.

This process occurs, for example, in the dandelion, where the seeds are each attached to a small “parachute” to facilitate their dispersal, forming the well-known blowball.

 The basal leaf shoots reappear in autumn with the first rains, after the scorching heat and summer drought, presenting temperature, humidity, and daylight hours similar to those in spring.

…So, happy harvesting to everyone!

written by: LAURA DELL’AQUILA