Full Description
The primal experience of gathering is inscribed in every human's DNA, and this book invites us to look beyond the refrigerator and cupboard to the abundance of wild edible plants that can be found and harvested everywhere. Part reference guide, part cookbook, A Feast of Weeds encourages readers to forage diverse natural environments for food, even in our city parks and streets. Luigi Ballerini shows tremendous breadth and depth of knowledge in an opening literary and historical analysis that explains how we have come to eat and cultivate wild plants. Each chapter that follows is devoted to a single ingredient--greens such as nettles, fennel, mint, chicory, and dandelion; and fruits such as berries, pomegranate, and prickly pear. Ballerini's delightful commentary helps foragers recognize, gather, and cook their harvest. Delicious and straightforward recipes from Southern Italy bring out the flavor and wholesomeness of each ingredient, highlighting the peasant roots of each dish.
Contents
PrefaceDoes Not Mean Grazing Bay Leaves Blackberries Blueberries Borage Capers Chamomile Cipollini Crested Wartycabbage Daisy False Acacia Mallow Milk Thistle Mint Myrtle Berries Nettles Pine Nuts Pomegranate Prickly Pear Purslane Red Poppy Samphire Sow Thistle Strawberry Tree/Arbutus Thyme Wallrocket Wild Arugula Wild Asparagus Wild Chicory Wild Fennel Wild Raspberries Wild Strawberries Notes Recipe Index
