Edible vegetables that can be picked in the wild
WILD FOOD PLANTS AS VEGETABLES
Tender leaves of Nettle (Urtica dioica) washed and ready to be cooked.
There are a lot of edible wild plants in the countryside that can be used as vegetables. Among the most common ones, we have the following:
Tender leaves of nettles (Urtica dioica)
Nettle is a weed found in abundance in nature, though it is generally underestimated by its stinging properties that disappear when the plant is dried, boiled or mashed.
Only spring young leaves can be consumed. The typical recipe is the nettle soup (See how to prepare it), prepared with onions, zucchini, potatoes and a good bunch of nettles.
It contains a wealth of minerals, mainly iron and magnesium, and vitamins such as folate, vitamin A (as beta carotene) and vitamin C.
Precautions with nettle: We must pick up nettles with rubber gloves and scissors because of their stinging properties.
* More information: Nettle butter recipe
Leaves and flowers the dandelions (Taraxacum officinale)
Dandelion is a plant of the Compositae family, grows in damp forests, grasslands, neglected fields, etc. We find good tender samples in spring.
Young leaves, which are great in salads, soups There are many plants similar to dandelions, but they can be distinguished:
– 1) the shape of its toothed leaves like those o a lion;
– 2) Because it has hairs on the underside of leaves.
The flower buds before flowering can be used pickled to prepare a delicious and full of flavonoids appetizer, like it was capers.
* More information: Recipes with dandelion
 Typical leaf of dandelion |  Canned flower buds of dandelionfor snacks |
 Dandelion quiche | |
Leaves and flowers of mallows (Malva sylvestris)
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Mallow is one of the edible and medicinal plants par excellence. Mallow leaves are an excellent vegetable. Their flavor is neutral and can be combined with many preparations, such as boiled like spinach, or as soup.
They are very rich in mucilage, a type of fiber that helps regulate intestinal transit. Formerly, cattle was given with mallow leaves after delivery to recover.
Violet mallow flowers are also rich in mucilage and are used in salads. We must remember that we must not collect all the flowers of a plant, as we would prevent the reproduction of the species.
Mallows Precautions: Many mallow leaves have tiny orange or red fungi in the leaves (mallow rust). In that case, you should not collect or consume these leaves. Mallow leaves should not be collected from roadsides, paths,….
Borage leaves and flowers (Borago officinalis)
Borage leaves have been a very common ingredient in the kitchen, which even today can be found in some markets in Spain.
Borage tender leaves, which are quite hairy, are consumed boiled and cooked as vegetables. For its texture, are ideal as donuts. They can also be fried, used for filling, or in short, in any recipe instead of spinach.
Borage flowers are also added to different preparations, mainly salads, as a decorative wildflower.
EDIBLE WILD PLANTS VIDEO
More information about wild plants in the kitchen.
