The Wild I: No, I Swear It's Not Poisonous...

For perhaps the first time ever, the Today Show has proven itself good for something.

You see, watching the Today Show a few weeks ago, my mother became inspired by a cooking segment featuring, of all things, a wild weed. The weed goes by the somewhat schizophrenic name 'garlic mustard weed' (is it garlic? is it mustard? does it really need to be both?), taxonomic name Alliaria petiolata, and the plant is an invasive weed native to Europe. I found it somewhat surprising that a.) The Today Show would be so bold as to suggest that its average viewership be trusted to forage for its own dinner, and b.) that my mother would suddenly be filled with a righteous garlic mustard weed fervor. And yet, here we are.

I should say, at this point, that garlic mustard weed is NOT poisonous. That emphatic decree is there because I, myself, was a wee bit skeptical. Which is odd: I eat wild mushrooms every season, and, with field guide in hand, I've dug indian cucumber and picked watercress. But somehow, coming from a nationally syndicated morning talk show packed with vacuous talking heads, the safety of eating a roadside weed seemed dubious. And my mother's gung-ho attitude and numerous past refusals to acknowledge common sense didn't help. When she gets an idea like this one, there is nothing left to do by put poison control on speed dial and cross your fingers.

But garlic mustard weed is indeed nontoxic; in fact, it's quite tasty. That's assuming you get the right plant. I won't presuppose here to be qualified to teach plant identification. But a quick google will reveal enough definitive info to get you out in the woods. Actually, because of it's invasive nature, getting out there and picking garlic mustard weed is good for the local ecosystem; just make sure and pick the whole plant, roots and all. Stop just short of salting the earth. And, on the plus side, you don't even need to go too far to find your quarry, since the weed loves to propagate on marginal land, such as road sides.

So why bother? Well, the stuff is actually pretty delicious. The weed is bitter and somewhat peppery, a sort of arugula-esque spinach, closest in taste perhaps to a broccoli rabe. We've eaten the plant two ways, one, folded into an omelette with feta and onion, which was good, and another, better way, sauteed with sausage and white beans over pasta. I highly recommend this recipe, as the weed really brings the dish alive and offsets the heat and sweetness of the sausage. Give it a shot, it's a great springtime meal, hearty, but fresh.

I won't go into great detail with the cooking, but try this. First pick a ton of the weed: like spinach, it wilts down considerably when cooked. Take the leaves only, discard the stems, and wash well. Prepare the sausage, I suggest both hot and sweet italian, and white beans with garlic and a little onion, salted and peppered to taste. Add in the plant only at the last minute, or even wait to toss in when you mix the sausage sauce with the still hot pasta.