EATING YOUR WEEDS from the garden to your plate

What if we took a different look at weeds, these plants, certainly invasive, but with unsuspected virtues? Many of them are edible, they grow spontaneously where the soil suits them best and therefore have nutritional qualities often superior to those of vegetables; so rather than persisting in pulling them up to put them on a compost heap, why not cook them? Each of the 28 most common (and most annoying!) "weeds" are described here, with the best ways to eat them. For each of them, two recipes are proposed: in the end, there are more than 50 recipes from all over the world, soups, fritters, salads, vegetable dishes, meat and fish. The whole is punctuated with practical advice on picking, preserving and preparing delicious "bad" herbs. Are weeds useful? Even when she was young, Susanne Hansch was attracted to everything that grew in forests and meadows. As a "wild edible plant consultant", she organizes themed hikes and cooking classes around Regensburg, Bavaria. Elke Schwarzer is a biologist, blogger, author of garden books, and spends time in nature as often as possible. Since 2003, she has managed her small city garden in Bielefeld (in the north of Germany) which, despite its limited size, is home to many wild plants that she also uses in cooking. SPECIES AND RECIPESComfrey Italian-style lentil and comfrey soupComfrey flower bud fritters with cheeseNettlesNettle ballsBarley soup with nettleOreganoMushroom salad with oreganoRed pesto with oreganoPersian speedwellKohlabi and pear salad with speedwellDaisyEuf cocotte with daisyDaisy saltSow thistleBorlotti beans and sow thistle (Crespino i fagioli)Summer salad with sow thistle and tomatoesChenopodiumSmoked salmon and its goosefoot saladCrêpes stuffed with goosefoot and gorgonzolaGoutweed, goutweedVegetable plate with zucchini and goutweedPotato and goutweed salad, Bavarian styleSolidification of CanadaGoldenrod ShootsIced Goldenrod Flower TeaGround Ivy, GlechomaGround Ivy RaitaGlechoma Butter WhiteShepherd's PurseHerring Salad with Shepherd's PurseHopsHop Tip Salad with BeerSpaghetti with Hop TipsColtsfootSpring Frittata with Coltsfoot BudsGreek Coltsfoot DolmadesGarlic Garlic PotatoesGarlic Garlic Whipped CreamGalinsogaCucumber with Galinsoga ShootsQuinoa and Galinsoga Stuffed TomatoesCleaversCauliflower Couscous with CleaversDandelionDandelion Salad, Eggs and Garlic CroutonsDandelion Antipasto with BaconBiennial Evening PrimroseEvening Primrose Seed CrackersRoots evening primrose and mushrooms in red wine