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UNDERGROUND CUISINE
3 tasty, filling trail side finds that could save dinner —even your life. |
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Backpacker Magazine, March 2008
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| Early spring roots are packed with nutrients, says naturalist and author "Wildman" Steve Brill, who teaches people how to find and feast on wild plants. He created these recipes featuring roots common to most forest trails. Not into foraging? All three meals are easily prepared with grocery-stores substitutes. |
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Free Food!
Wild parsnip, burdock, and wild carrots grow in disturbed soil along forest edges, trails, and fields throughout North America. Always wear gloves and dig them out with your trowel or a sharpened stick. Learn more: Identifying and Harvesting Edible and Medicinal Plants in Wild (and Not-So-Wild) Places, Steve Brill, $23: Harper-Collins. |
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Wild Parsnip
Jagged leaflets sprout from multiple tiers on stalks up to 5 feet tall. The single, white taproot is distinct from the finger-like root bundles found in the toxic water hemlock. Harvest in late winter from wetlands and fields. Caution: Wear gloves to avoid a blistering toxin released by its leaves. |
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Long-stalked, wedge-shaped leaves grow in clusters up to 4 feet long and 3 feet across. Leaf undersides are densely woolly. The white taproot extends 6 inches to 2 feet down in soil. Harvest in the spring and fall before spiky purple flowers and burrs appear in late spring during its second year. |
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Wild Carrot, Queen Anne's Lace
Feathery green leaves with fuzzy stalks resemble carrot tops. The taproot is whitish, carrot-scented, and 9 inches long. White, umbrella-like flowers sprout in year two. Harvest in spring and late fall. Caution: The toxic poison hemlock looks similar, but has hairless stalks and no carrot odor. |
