Wild Spring Savoy Cake As A Doorway
Why do I love foraging? Foraging is not just a hobby or an interest, it is a doorway into a new way of being. When it’s just you out in the woods, listening to the creaking and humming of the world around you, you melt into it. You become a seamless part of that landscape. Nature loses its familiar “otherness” as the lines blur, then it swallows you whole.
When you emerge from that kinship with the landscape, you’ll be different. You’ll realize that your actions and presence have a palpable impact. You’ll start to see patterns and learn how to read the wildflowers like the face of a beloved, how to predict the height of huckleberry season or how harsh the next winter will be. You’ll notice the hungry birds hunting for berries if you pick a bush completely dry. You’ll see that you aren’t the only one reliant on these gifts from nature.
When a store-bought head of lettuce goes slimy in my refrigerator drawer, I don’t feel terrible about tossing it in the compost. And yet, I will use every leaf of the stinging nettle I harvested, knowing that my actions removed it from an ecosystem where something else might have made use of it, and that I spent half a day carefully gathering little bits from separate patches. I have seen how that nettle is interwoven into a tapestry of life, so it has become precious. I feel like that with all the things I forage, finding ways to use up any bits of scrap, any leftover syrup, any woody stems.
Of course there are the days when well-intentioned gathering doesn’t go as planned. Bags of plant material discovered in the backpack too late to salvage. An overwhelming amount of seeds to process. We all make mistakes, and we all learn our limits. But hopefully we also learn our responsibility too. We learn that we are not separate from nature, but a part of a vast community. We learn to dance with reciprocity. We learn to recognize plants as old friends. We learn to cherish that web of connections.
It’s hard to put into words just how healing foraging has been for me. It stretches beyond personal peace or satisfaction. In most of the world, foraging is a way of life, the same way that going to the farmers’ market is here. It’s as natural to head out into the woods with a basket for mushrooms or herbs as it is to buy them in a store. Here, something feels off. Something needs shifting. We have told ourselves a story that we are powerful and nature is other. We are above the realm of the wilderness. It has become a resource rather than a gift. Part of the reason I write about the plants I gather is to share my love as widely as I can. After all, we only want to protect something if we love it. We only truly love something when we have a genuine connection or understanding. And we only foster that if we get out and get to know it.
Come into the woods with me. Let me show you how the dewdrops on a spiderweb sparkle brighter than the diamonds that ad agencies tell us we need. Let me guide you through the deep richness of damp forest smells, as complex as any fine cologne. Let me give you a thimbleberry to taste in all of its ephemeral glory and you tell me if your tongue has ever felt so awakened. Maybe you will remember that your soul belongs here. The wilds are filled with beauty and wonder at every turn and all you need to find it is an open heart and a little vulnerability.
The earth remembers you, too. She will welcome you home.
Wild Spring Savoy Cake:
This plant-based dish owes its gorgeous presentation to the crinkly delicate leaves of a savoy cabbage. Inside, you’ll find a cheerful yellow filling, a creamy lemon and saffron risotto with wild asparagus. Risotto purists may turn over in their graves, but this easy version relies on slow cooking in a crock pot and an extra creamy sauce stirred in made from protein-packed white beans. Between the layers of this flavorful delight, you’ll find creamed dandelion leaves to add even more flavor and texture. This cake has a great depth of flavor thanks to the roasted asparagus, which is just a bit crunchy for good contrast of texture as well. Serve it up as the centerpiece to a spring feast, or combine it with other offerings for a wonderful meal. I highly recommend serving it with fresh lemon slices for the lemon lovers like me!
Creamy Lemon Risotto:
Ingredients:
5 c. vegetable broth
Pinch saffron
½ tsp. Dried porcini powder
3 Tbs. vegan butter or olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 ¾ c. uncooked arborio rice
¾ c. dry white wine
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 c. cooked white beans
Zest of one lemon
1-2 Tbs. fresh lemon juice
¼ tsp. Dried turmeric
½ tsp. salt
Directions:
Add the saffron, dried porcini powder, and vegetable broth to a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and then simmer on low while you do the next couple of steps.
Melt the vegan butter in a crock pot on high heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring often, until the onion is tender and translucent (this will take a while. If you’re in a rush, do this on the stovetop, then transfer the mixture to the crock pot when you add the rice.) Add the garlic and stir for another thirty seconds or so. Pull out 1/4 c. of the mixture for the creamed dandelion greens. Add the rice and stir to coat the rice grains thoroughly. Add the white wine and 3 c. of the broth. Season with salt and pepper.
Turn the heat down to low and cook with the lid askew for 1 hour, or until the rice is tender and most of the liquid has been absorbed. Meanwhile, prepare the roasted asparagus and creamed dandelion greens.
Add the white beans, 1/2 c. of the remaining broth, lemon zest, turmeric, and salt to a high-speed blender and blend until smooth. Add the lemon juice to taste. Blend until creamy, adding more broth as needed to create a yogurt-like consistency. Once the rice has cooked, pour the cream sauce over the rice and stir well. Cook for an additional 5 minutes, covered.
Roasted Wild Asparagus
Ingredients:
3-4 c. chopped wild asparagus
1 Tbs. olive oil
2 Tbs. lemon juice
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400F. Toss the asparagus with the olive oil, then spread them out on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Season with salt and pepper. Roast until tender, about 15-20 minutes. Drizzle the lemon juice over the top. When the risotto is done, fold the asparagus into it.
Creamed Dandelion Greens and Savoy Cake Assembly:
Ingredients:
1 head savoy cabbage
1 quart fresh dandelion greens
1/3 c. raw, unsalted cashews
¼ c. vegetable broth (from above)
¼ c. sauteed onions (from above)
Fresh nutmeg
1 tsp. Nutritional yeast flakes
½ tsp. Salt
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350F. Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Place the cashews into a heat-proof bowl and cover them with hot water and set aside. Select 12- 13 outer leaves of the cabbage and add half of them to the boiling water. Boil for 3-4 minutes, then remove with a slotted spoon and place them on a clean dish towel to dry. Repeat with the other half of the leaves.
Add the fresh dandelion greens and cook for 1-5 minutes (depending on how tough they are), then drain and plunge into ice water. Set aside to drain as well. Meanwhile, drain the cashews and rinse them, then add them, the sauteed onions, broth, some freshly grated nutmeg, nutritional yeast flakes, and salt to the blender. Puree until very smooth, adding a tiny bit of water if needed. You should have a thick puree. Squeeze any remaining liquid from the dandelion greens, then stir them into the creamy sauce.
Grease a 9” springform pan with some olive oil. Make sure the cooked cabbage leaves are very dry, then lay one down in the bottom of the pan. Overlap more around the edge, leaving them up the sides of the pan. Add half of the lemon and asparagus risotto and press down to make a smooth top. Spread the creamed dandelion on top. Top with another layer of risotto. Fold the tops of the cabbage leaves down around the edges and place another leaf on top, tucking down the edges. Bake until warm all the way through, about 20 minutes.
Let cool for 10 minutes in the pan, then remove from the pan and serve warm.
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Join me for a little winter night magic as we bake this cake full of rich seasonal flavors and black cocoa!