Mark & Beth's Homegrown Adventure

One of the things Mark and I are planning to learn more about is foraging for food in a sustainable way. We’re complete newbies, so I need to add a disclaimer – don’t go eating any plants that you have not meticulously identified yourself after thorough research! All I’m intending to do is share our experiences with the things we find and identify for our own use. That being said…

This is a pretty easy one to start with! It’s Allium vineale, more commonly called Wild Onion Grass. It may look familiar. It’s an invasive, fast-growing weed that you can find in your yard, along the roadside, or on your afternoon walk with your dog. And it’s edible! Check for that distinct onion smell to distinguish it from inedible lookalikes (and remember, when in doubt, keep it out).

I harvested a few bunches of it directly from my front yard. The dark green grassy part can be chopped and used like chives, but since I’m not a big chive person, I put those in the composter (that’s another post for another day). I saved the white parts of the stem and the bulbs.

I have to be honest here, I was really surprised at just how pungent this part of the plant is. By the time I got down to the actual bulb, it looked, felt, and smelled more like garlic than onion to me. And that smell was on my hands even after a few washes (finally gone, in case you were worried). But much of that pungency melted away after I sautéed them in a pan with a little butter and olive oil, then used them in a recipe I’ve made before that calls for onions, rice, mushrooms, and chicken.

You can see the bulbs in the image above! And yes, I know they’re a little strange looking… I almost expected them to burst in my mouth or something. But they didn’t, they softened up just like an onion, and worked well in the dish. Another slight surprise though – I felt like some tasted quite different than others. Some had this green, fresh kind of taste to them, while others were more peppery, like when a red onion has that bite to it. I think it’s just going to take more experience and experiments to determine which kinds of bulbs have which kinds of flavors. But that’s a task I’m happy to take on.