recipe – Wanderlünch

Have you ever had the urge to venture into the woods, backyard, or highway median and eat the stuff you find growing there?

No? Just me?

Well, if there are any curious would-be foragers out there I’ve put together a quick and easy recipe featuring a really common foraged green, wild spinach, aka lambs quarter. It also features some quick pickled red onions, pickled brussels sprout leaves, charred green beans, and broccoli sprouts. This one is really pretty and light and would make a nice start to your next dinner with friends and it pairs really well with sauvignon blanc.

> Green Beans, .25#, ends trimmed, blanched and shocked

> Red Onion, .25 EA., thinly sliced

> Brussels Sprouts, .125#, blanched and shocked, leaves removed

> Wild Spinach (lambs quarter), .5#, washed and dried in even layers

> Broccoli Sprouts, .125#, cleaned and dried

> Apple Melon, .25 EA., oblique cut

> Pistachios, 5 EA., shells removed and meat crushed

> White Vinegar, .25 C.

> Sugar, 1 T.

> Safflower, to garnish

> Sea Salt , TT

> Lime, 1 EA., juiced

> Champagne Vinegar, 1 t.

> Honey, 1 t.

> Olive Oil

> Sweet Cicely Root, .25″ piece, washed

Wash your damn hands! Combine the white vinegar and sugar in a small pan until just about to boil. Pour the sugar-vinegar mixture over the red onions and brussels sprout leaves. Let them sit at least 20 minutes up to 3 hours. Drain the liquid and reserve the onions and brussels.

Next, char the green beans. Heat a cast iron skillet over high heat. Add the green beans and let them char for a couple of minutes, tossing every minute or so. Because we blanched the beans before we aren’t really cooking them, just getting them nice and dark. Remove the beans from the pan and season them with sea salt.

To make the dressing, combine lime juice, honey, grated sweet cicely root, and champagne vinegar in a glass bowl. Slowly whisk in the olive oil to emulsify. Season with kosher salt to taste. Set the dressing aside.

To plate, toss the apple melon, green beans, and pistachios together with some of the dressing. Place the wild spinach around the plate, then add the green beans, melon, and nuts. Arrange the pickled vegetables and sprouts next. Finally, garnish with the safflower. Serve right away.

* A note on some of the ingredients in this recipe, specifically the apple melon and the sweet cicely. The apple melon can be substituted for any easier to find apple. The melon has a more mild, more-melon-like flavor.The sweet cicely is another foraged ingredient and has a flavor like really mild anise or black licorice. You can substitute anise or just exclude if that flavor isn’t your thing. The safflower is just a pretty garnish and doesn’t change the flavor at all.

Lastly, if your really want to try the salad exactly as you see it, and you live in Columbus, Ohio, you can find all of the ingredients at the Clintonville Farmer’s Market. The sweet cicely and the wild spinach are available from our friend Kate at Foraged & Sown, a produce vendor who specializes in foraged greens, roots, and flowers found all across central Ohio.

As always, if you make this or any other Wanderlünch recipe, let us know how you liked it in the comments section.

So this recipe is intended to be a way for you to use up leftover, prepared chicken, something we never thrown away at our place. I call for leftover rotisserie chicken (yes, the kind you find dripping on those greasy spits at the grocery store.), but you can use whatever kind of chicken, light or dark meat, breasts or thighs, that you have kicking around your fridge.

These tacos are light and super fresh, and have an interesting sweet quality, owing to the sliced dates. They are quick to prepare and make a great summer lunch. The recipe below makes about 4 6″ tacos.

Ingredients

Leftover Rotisserie Chicken, pulled apart, 2 oz.
Sugar snap peas, fresh, 1/3 C.
Dates, pits removed, thinly sliced, 2 EA.
Corn Tortillas, small, 4 EA.
Cilantro, fresh, minced, 1/4 C.
Garlic, fresh, minced, 1 T.
Extra Virgin Olive Oil, 1/4 C.
Cayanne, 1 t.
Radish, julienne, to garnish
Brocolli Sprouts, to garnish *As always, if you can’t get your mits on microgreens, supstitute whatever lettuce or greens you have available, the fresher the better!
Lime Wedges, to garnish
Kosher Salt, To Taste
Smoked Maladon Salt, to finish
Vegetable or Peanut Oil, to char the beans

Wash your damn hands! Heat your charring oil in a cast iron skillet until it just begins to smoke. Add the peas in a single, even layer and let them do their thing. They should pop and smoke and blister and generally get gnarly looking. You’re charring them, meaning almost burning. Toss them around every minute or so to ensure even charring.

Once they look nice and dark, keep the pan on the stove and cut the heat. Add the chicken and the dates to the pan. We aren’t cooking here, just heating everything up. Let everything mingle in the pan until warmed through. Taste the chicken and then add salt, if it needs it.

While the chicken is heating, make the drizzle. In a glass bowl combine cilantro, garlic, olive oil and cayenne. Mix well and set aside.

To plate, heat tortillas in the microwave for ten seconds. Add the snap pea/chicken/date mixture in an even layer on the tortilla. Next, drizzle the cilantro and garlic oil then top with broccoli sprouts and radish. Add a pinch of smoked salt and serve with a lime wedge.

As always, if you try these let me know how they turned out, what you substituted, or ways to improve the recipe!