GRILLED SWORDFISH TACOS with WILD WOOD SORREL CREMA

mainspescatarianplants, flowers, and g...dressings and condiments

Jun 14

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If you're thinking the above tacos look as though they've been sprinkled with weeds just pried from a garden, you are correct. And no, I haven't lost my mind! A few years ago, I read an intriguing article on foraging in the wild and was surprised to learn how many edible plants we overlook. My favorite, and pictured above, is the wildly abundant Yellow Wood Sorrel. Also known as Oxalis Stricta, it has heart shaped leaves that grow in sets of three with tiny yellow flowers, and tastes deliciously sour and lemony. If you've never noticed it before, you'll see it everywhere now that you've read this. I encourage you to pluck a few leaves and pop them in your mouth the next time you're poking around outside, then gather a handful and toss onto grilled veggies or salad.

Here, I've chopped up the leaves and flowers (the tender upper stems can be eaten as well, though the woody lowers should be discarded) along with chives, parsley, and tarragon for the lemon herb crema. If you can't find any in your flower beds or on a woodland walk, you can substitute cultivated sorrel leaves that are often available at farmers' markets. Though the wild and the cultivated are unrelated and look quite different, they share a similar flavor profile. If my post has piqued your interest in foraging (did you know you can eat the tender leaves of day lilies?*), this book is a wonderful guide on identifying and preparing hundreds of wild plants. After reading it, you can channel your inner Katniss Everdeen (whose name, by the way, comes from an edible wild plant). Braids, bow, and arrow optional.