Recipes with wild herbs

Wild elderberry soup

Autumn is when there is, as you'd say, a "second flowering:" new plants sprout, such as nettles and it's also the time to harvest, especially wild berries, as well as elderberries. This recipe combines these two worlds in a burst of energy that helps the immune system and at the same time is very tasty and very easy to prepare.

 Ingredients

400 g wild nettles

400 g bran flour and/or amaranth

natural red sauerkraut

200 g mature elderberries

1 shallot

2 leaves of garden hellera

800 ml vegetable broth

2 medium red batatas

2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

salt

Wash the nettles, bran flour and amaranth, keeping the leaves and removing the stems (which can be dried and pulverized to use for many other recipes).

Cut the batatas into small cubes.

In a non-stick saucepan, bruise the elderberries with very little water and let them stew slightly over very low heat for a few minutes, mashing them gently with a fork. Add the red sauerkraut and set aside.

Clean the shallot and slice thinly. Place it in a pan with the olive oil and sauté until translucent. Add the cubed batatas, wild herbs and hellera leaves and let all soften slightly. Add the broth and when it reaches a boil, add salt to taste, cooking over low heat for 20 minutes.

Transfer the contents into the blender jug ​​and puréè until the desired consistency is obtained.

Serve the soup by adding a spoonful of sauerkraut to the elderberries in the centre. It can be served with bars made with sesame and pistachios and garnished with lemon zest.

Wild chocolate pralines

With the first colder temperatures of the fall season, wild herb harvest surplus can be used, pulverizing it to avoid waste and to use parts of the plant such as the stems that aren't normally cooked. These chocolate pralines are special and can be prepared in many variations, your guests will be quite impressed!

Ingredients

Coconut flour

Powdered wild grass of your choice (such as spruce or white fir needles, larch, pine)

Dark chocolate

Add a spoonful of coconut flour and a spoonful of wild grass powder in the bowl of your food processor each praline (10 chocolate pralines = 10 tablespoons) and turn on at maximum speed, keeping careful watch to avoid it becoming "butter." Once soft but not creamy, shape the mixture into balls (roll in slightly moistened hands, using cold water). Arrange them on a tray lined with parchment paper and flatten them with the back of a spoon or with the bottom of a glass.

In a saucepan, melt the dark chocolate in a double boiler. Use a silicone brush to cover the praline fillings; arrange on a wire rack and let the melted chocolate harden.

They keep for at least two weeks and can be stored in the fridge and eaten like ice cream. You can also add dried or crumbled dehydrated fruit to the chocolate covering.