Foraging in the Wild For Food (video)

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I just had the pleasure of spending a couple days in San Francisco. I went on a walk through one particular neighborhood and could have had lunch: fields of wild fennel, mustard greens, dandelion, nettles and a whole lot more spilled out onto the path. There is a lot of wild and delicious food sprouting up, but as I came back to Minnesota, where the evenings are still dropping to the 32, the bounty is still a little ways off. Looking fondly forward, I wanted to share a video that I made last summer about the wild greens available in the backyard.

Of all the topics I covered in Minnesota over the last year, foraging may have sparked my interest the most. It turns a simple walk into a treasure hunt and a free for all shopping trip. Well not a complete free for all as you have to be careful not to over harvest some plants. Other varieties you can harvest to your hearts content – particularly the invasive species. Two ubiquitous and invasive plants that love my backyard are garlic mustard and pig weed (a form of Amaranth).

In this video I create a dish out of the good food that you might be weeding from your garden. After watching, I encourage you to go out and look for some of the plants (if you haven’t already). Just make sure you check a guide before eating, many poisonous and edible plants look very similar, so its always best to stay on the safe side.

After learning to cook at his mother’s bed and breakfast, Daniel Klein (The Perennial Plate) went on to work and train at many of the world’s top restaurants. His culinary education brought him to Spain, France, England, India and New York, where he has worked and trained at top Michelin starred restaurants. After graduating from NYU, Daniel also pursued a career in film.