Dandelion, mallow, hawthorn, mugwort, borage, purslane, turnip, nettle, wild garlic, elderflower and the list goes on. These are some of the wild edible herbs that we find in our meadows that become protagonists in gourmet cuisine dishes.
Having left spring behind and the tenderness of the first buds, we are approaching the summer solstice when the herbs are at the peak of their energetic phase, therefore an excellent time to collect and use them.
A few kilometers from Turin in Val Sangoneat the organic farm Antea Farm in Trana they collect all the herbs that grow on their land. For June 24th they have organized an experiential journey with a wild picnic and the possibility of preparing the water of San Giovanni, the ancient beneficial infusion.
In Valchiusellabetween Ivrea and Val d’Aosta, which has always been an area of collectors, the Friends of Val Chiusella club organizes walks during which the magistres and herb masters teach how, when and which herbs to collect and how to use them in the kitchen. «With the start of the summer season, he says Laura Lancerotto –, the harvest moves to the upper valley where for a few days we have been finding the plantain, the piatello, the gallium verum used to curdle the milk for cheese making. It depends on the management of the lawn with differences between the mowed one and the one grazed by animals and the altitude. In nature there is a time for everything, therefore also for seasonality!
Among the restaurants, there are five in the area, we highlight: The Mines to Crossbars with a menu «From the lawn to the plate» which includes ajucche soup and the Vico Canavese centre.
Mariangela Susigan of the Michelin star restaurant The gardenia Of Caluso she has always brought nature to her plate using herbs that she herself collects in the surrounding valleys. Delicious cannoli made with nettles, dandelion, borage, ursine garlic, seirass, anchovy powder, fermented lemon.
In the Biellese and especially in the area ofZegna oasis going through meadows in search of wild food to use in the kitchen has always been a tradition. The herb lady here is Mina Novelloalso coordinator of the project Biella flavours, which organizes botanical walks. Also in this area there are some restaurants like it Bielmonte chalettry their nettle polenta gnocchi with Maccagno fondue and in this period the battered elderberry and alpine clover flowers also in a savory version.
We move to Cocconato d’Asti in the restaurant of Nicola winery where the chef Alessia Rolla offers preparations with vegetable raw materials from Monferrato, but not only. Among its ingredients there is also sea fennel which is collected from the rocks of Liguria and used as a mixture for an unusual pesto with hazelnuts. Berlingot, lemon verbena, St. Peter’s wort and maresinathe first completely vegetable dish in which lemon verbena is used in the filling, St. Peter’s wort in a sauce and maresina herb in an aria.
Sea fennel also used by the Piedmontese chef Enrico Marmo Michelin star ai Balzi Rossi from Ventimiglia (Im), thanks to his studies in botanical agronomy, he uses a variety of wild herbs that he collects just a few meters from the restaurant. His lean Cappun, for example, has been revisited in an entirely vegetal way where sea fennel is the protagonist in vinegar in an iodized sauce replacing the fish with salicornia, sea lettuce and lemon zest.
