Dandelion and Spruce Tip Breakfast Soup

Wild Foods Challenge Day 1

For the month of June, I’ll be taking the Wild Foods Challenge and trying to incorporate more found and foraged edible ingredients in my diet. I hope you’ll follow along!

Long time readers know that I’m a fan of breaking free from the Tyranny of the “Typical Breakfast.” What better way to start the first day of the Wild Foods challenge with a lovely breakfast soup, with dandelions as a tasty green and a hint of citrusy spring spruce tips?

Thanks to a very wet winter, dandelions are busting up like mad this spring. These leaves clock in at about 1.5 feet!

For this recipe, you really want to collect actual dandelion leaves, not the thick, fuzzy leaves of dandelion look-alikes like cat’s-ear (Hypochaeris radicata) or hawksbeard (Crepis spp). Once you can tell the difference, it’s fairly easy to distinguish them — true dandelion (Taraxacum off.) has a single flower per stalk, and its leaves are all basal, with no hair.

“Spruce” tips can come from most any conifer species. *Take care to ID your conifer correctly; Pacific Yew (Taxus brevifolia) can be toxic.* In my area, Western Hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla) and Douglas Fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) produce copious tips.

The green bits on the end

As always, be sure to ask permission from the tree before you cut off its new growth. If you don’t have permission, you’ll “know.” If you take from a tree without its permission, you’ll have problems later on.

Also, be sure to thank any tree from which you harvest parts. You could leave an offering, or remove some litter from the tree’s ‘area,’ or just sincerely thank the tree. I know some readers will think this sounds silly, but try it. Try it!

It’s good practice to do this with any plant from which you’re harvesting, but it’s WAY more important with these massive, centuries-old trees.

Okay, now that you have some dandelion greens and spruce tips, it’s time to “get to gettin’!”

You’ll need:

• 1.5–2 cups dandelion greens. You can do the old “boil/discard water/boil again” trick to get rid of the bitterness if you want.
• 1/2 lime.
• Small handful of spruce tips, pulsed in a blender or coffee grinder. Add these to one cup of water 30–60 minutes prior to cooking to infuse the water.
• Your favorite noodles.
• Your favorite soup seasoning base. I use a yummy “hot and sour” paste I get from a local Vietnamese market. You could go miso, bouillon, veg stock, or stinging nettle flavor bomb.
• Your favorite protein. I used some thin cut beef, but you could go tofu, chicken, even shellfish or shrimp.

1. Add the spruce tip infusion to a saucepan, cover,and bring to a simmer for 5 minutes.
2. Add the dandelion greens and soup base. Simmer for an additional 5 minutes (or per instructions if you used a pre-made paste).
3. Add the noodles and the lime. Cook until noodles are al dente. Using tongs or a slotted spoon, remove the noodles and dandelion greens to a colander and cool under running water.
4. Turn off the heat and add your protein to the broth (the protein will cook thoroughly if hot enough).
5. When ready to serve, pour the hot broth into a bowl and add the cold noodles/dandelions.
6. Garnish with chives or basil or radishes or Herb-Robert, and enjoy for breakfast (also good as lunch or dinner)!

Delicious, and WILD!

Want more WILD recipes? Follow along with the Wild Food Challenge on Invironment, and don’t forget to share with your pals/click the lil’ heart!