forage

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Wild greens tart

This tart starts with a slow forage for your greens. You are looking for dock (some species referred to as sorrel). Docks are a herb belonging to the buckwheat family. Docks like moist ground, so after the rain we have had this year in the Northern Rivers there should be plenty to find! Look in lower lying areas and near waterways.

There are many species - most can be found all across the world, and some are native. Some are more sour such as Rumex crispus (narrow dock or curly dock) owing to higher amounts of oxalic acid, and others more bitter such as Rumex obtusifolius - the flavour can also change a fair amount between plants owing to environmental factors. I taste a leaf of each plant and decide whether to harvest depending on what I am using it for. They are more palatable when younger as opposed to once they have started to flower.

Dock is one of my top 3 wild greens to forage for (purslane and oxalis are up there too!).

Ingredients

1 Pastry shell - blind baked

2 red onions, sliced thinly

4 whole eggs + 2 additional egg yolk

1/2 cup pure cream

2 Tbs olive oil

100g dock or sorrel

100g goats cheese

salt and pepper

Fresh lemon wedges for serving

Instructions

  1. Blind bake tart shell (see link for recipe). When the tart shell is finished turn your oven to 160 degrees C.

  2. Sauté the onion in olive oil until soft and translucent. Set aside.

  3. Whisk the eggs with the cream and a good crack of sea salt and pepper. The left over egg whites can be used for a delicious granola.

  4. Rinse and finely shred your greens.

  5. Assemble your tart - first the onion, then small pieces of goats cheese, then the fresh greens, and finally top with the egg mix.

  6. Bake for 30-35 minutes (making sure the egg has set prior to removing from the oven). Leave to cool for 10 minutes before serving with a wedge of lemon.