Spring Foraging In Northern Michigan
An edible and delicious Violet flower. The greens of this plant are edible as well and make for a great addition to spring salads.
I wanted to write a blog about our recent foraging classes in part to show off some beautiful photos taken by my talented friend Michelle Rodriguez, but also to showcase the various plants available to us here in Northern Michigan, and share a recipe with you all!
Now that the snow has finally melted away and the days are becoming nurturing for the first spring greens, we have been able to witness the hibernating plants come back to life. This spring we were blessed to have some very full classes. We started off with our first Early Spring Foraging class of the year, followed by a Children’s Foraging Class, that invited families to come out into nature with us and learn some basic spring plants. Our first class started off with a bang, selling out well before the class came due. We took a walk through the Grand Traverse Commons, and those who attended learned all about Wild Parsnips, Wintercress, Stinging Nettle and many more.
Clay holding freshly harvested watercress.
During our Children’s Foraging Class, the kids learned a variety of different edibles. We talked about Wild leeks, and the kids even got to all take a taste of trout lily, a sweet and tender leaf of the forest, that typically grows in the same landscape among leeks. After our classes, we gathered back to the common area, and served a variety of wild food spreads, including acorn hummus, watercress and white bean hummus, my very unique 4C bread (Chocolate, Chaga, Coffee, and Charcoal). We also gave out samples of our Mint & Nettle tea that we now have available in our shop, and a delicious wild leek pesto made with wild pecans we foraged last fall during our trip to Austin, TX. I’d say the pesto was a hit, so I decided I wanted to share the recipe with all of you, to give you some inspiration on getting out on your land and using the highly nutritious food we have available to us. I’d like to mention that there are some conflicting views about harvesting wild leeks, but I want to give you thoughts about what Clay and I have concluded. Wild leeks should be mindfully harvested. Him and I have both witnessed the decline of leeks over time in places like the Grand Traverse Commons, and other public areas. Wild Leeks take 5-7 years to produce seeds, and therefore, only picking one leaf per plant is a good practice. However, if you have private land available to you like we do, it is okay to pick some by the roots, and harvest a little more than one would typically. We do our best to practice sustainable harvesting no matter what the plant, and it’s important to only take what you will use. So, with that, here is the recipe I have created for wild leek pesto, and I hope you enjoy!
Wild Leek plant with it’s roots still attached.
Wild Leek Pesto, topped with freshly ground black pepper.
Wild Leek Pesto
Makes about 3.5 cups
100g Pecans, Toasted (you could also use another wild nut, or whatever you have in your cupboard. This recipe is flexible)
175g Romano Cheese, Grated. Again, this can be substituted for another cheese like Parmesan.
13g Nutritional Yeast, to add a little bit more cheesy flavor
175g Wild Leek Leaves
175g Neutral Oil, plus 25-50g extra depending on your preference on consistency. I used Olive oil, but other oils would work well too.
Salt + Pepper to taste
Pulse the toasted pecans, cheese, and nutritional yeast in a food processor until chopped, and combined.
Add leeks and pulse until roughly chopped.
Slowly stream in oil until it is emulsified and has a creamy consistency.
Add Salt and Pepper to taste.
Keep in mind this pesto has a lot of “zip”. The taste will mellow out as it sits in the refrigerator, but at first, because of the raw flavors of garlic and onions that comes with wild leeks, it is best served with other complimentary flavors. We like to toss it into pasta, and add sliced cherry tomatoes, or spread it on my sourdough bread and dip it in our runny egg yolks. I’d love to see what you use this pesto with, and if you enjoy the recipe as much as we do! Feel free to leave a comment below and give your opinions.