From the Spring Foraging Cookbook: Saxifrage and Shepherd's Purse

Saxifrage

Both Lettuce Saxifrage and Swamp Saxifrage are excellent in early spring.  The more mature leaves are a nice potherb – cook like any leafy green.  Some folks say that when the leaves are young and tender, they can be used in salads.  I'm not terribly fond of the raw leaf texture, though.  That said, I have much more experience with Swamp Saxifrage.  It may be that the raw Lettuce Saxifrage leaves are better.  The tender shoots are what I prioritize.  Picked before they flower, the shoots are crisp and fresh tasting, and a few are a nice addition to a salad.  







Shepherd’s Purse

Although Shepherd’s Purse is a very tasty wild edible, its most important aspect is medicinal.  This fairly common “weed” can be found in old pastures and fields, along roads and pedestrian areas.  It is so named because the seed pod has a unique, triangular shape that is said to resemble the bag that shepherds once carried.  Medicinally, this herb is among the most valuable for slowing or stopping internal bleeding; it is especially effective for excessive menstrual bleeding and has saved many lives.  

As a food plant, Shepherd’s Purse is used like many greens.  The tender, young leaves may be enjoyed raw and are very nice in salads.  As they mature, the leaves become peppery, like Mustard.  It makes a very nice potherb and combines well with other greens such as Mustard and Wintercress – definitely a good veggie to cook in bacon fat with a few wild alliums and dress with hot pepper vinegar!

Shepherd's Purse is much more commonly used in Asian cooking than it is in American or European.  I have seen it as more of an ingredient to add flavor to a dish than as a main ingredient... and I'm not an expert in any style of Asian cooking.  So, I just toss some in with a stir fry or fried rice.  When I include it with fried rice, I usually add an extra egg because the peppery flavor of the greens compliments eggs very well.  It goes well with pork, just like mustard greens, and I have read that it is traditional in certain pork dumplings, but I have not tried it.  There is something about the flavor that is complemented by soy sauce and fat.  I guess I am somewhat odd in that I like to eat soup for breakfast frequently.  Often, I will make a big pot of chicken or turkey broth from the carcass of a roasted bird.  I usually lightly salt it but add garlic, onions, black pepper, parsley, ginger and turmeric to form sort of a base broth.  In the morning, I turn the pot on and walk outside to see if there is anything in the garden or growing wild that I might want to toss in.  That always includes some kind of green onion, either from the garden or wild (unless it is winter, of course), a few fresh herbs, and maybe some greens or edible flowers – just a handful of all combined.  Once the soup is boiling, I chop all of this up and toss it in a bowl, sometimes with some egg noodles.  I pour the boiling soup over everything and by the time it has cooled enough to eat, everything is slightly cooked and the flavors are stronger than if I had cooked them in the pot.  With Shepherd's Purse and green onions, a dash of soy sauce, a little hot sauce and a few drops toasted sesame oil is very good!



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