On the left is miners' lettuce. In the right of the photo is wood sorrel. Both are wild edibles gathered from the nearby forest.
Now you see it. Now you don't!
Just two weeks ago I was gathering wood sorrel on my forest strolls. Just a few days ago I didn't see any at all. Heat and sun have taken their toll and this edible green likely won't be seen in my neck of the woods until next Spring!
Stems and wee flower clusters originate through the centers of the leaves making miners' lettuce easy to identify.
Miners' lettuce is easy to identify. Look for roundish leaves with stems and tiny flowers positioned in the centers of the leaves. It has a fresh, grassy flavor and I use it in salads to augment other wild and store-bought greens.
I'm still gathering wood sorrel. Its small, clover-like leaves have the same taste and cooking properties as its bigger more robust cousin, the popular garden herb, French sorrel.
Wood sorrel. There is another, called "mountain sorrel" that has pinkish leaves, although I've not seen that one here. Wood sorrel has pretty, yellow five-petaled flowers. There is a clover that looks like wood sorrel that also has yellow flowers and if you look toward the upper left corner of the photo you will see a clover blossom just beginning to unfurl that was growing alongside the wood sorrel! Clover, however, lacks the lemony flavor and the flowers are similar to both white and red clover, although much smaller.
While French sorrel has large leaves that look nothing like clover, they both share a tangy lemony flavor. When sauteed both wild and domestic sorrels share the same "melting" tendency and texture.
After blooming, wood sorrel forms seed-bearing capsules.
Wood sorrel may used as a fresh green in salads and as a garnish, but due to its high oxalic acid content is used sparingly.
I like to make sorrel sauce and freeze it in small containers, then thaw it, add cream or nut milk and apply the lemony sauce to omelets, fish, or chicken.
In the next post, I will share my recipe for a creamy, savory Sorrel Sauce.
This meal-in-a-bowl salad, the sides of the bowl "water-colored" by juice from shaved fresh beets, is made with leaf lettuce, miners' lettuce, wood sorrel, grapes, radishes, avocados, kidney beans, beets, and pepitas. It's dressed with an herbed vinaigrette and lots of fresh ground pepper. Delicious!
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