Onionweed Fritters

One of the simplest & most delicious wild recipes to make, is Onionweed fritters.

I made these with a group of 9 year old boys at my daughters school last year and loved the simplicity of them. The boys wanted to be 'Alone' ready (the tv series where people live alone in the wild), so I was trying to come up with the most simple wild recipes that they could easily manage.

I thought these onionweed fritters pretty much fit their criteria, as the only ingredients that we used were fresh onionweed, eggs, salt & pepper.

Ingredients

• 2 cups fresh onionweed leaves and stems, finely chopped
• 2 eggs
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• Oil for frying (olive oil or another cooking oil)

Method

1. Finely chop the onionweed leaves and tender stems.
2. Beat the eggs in a bowl and season generously with salt and pepper.
3. Stir the chopped onionweed into the eggs until everything is evenly coated.
4. Heat a thin layer of oil in a frying pan over medium heat.
5. Spoon small handfuls of the mixture into the pan, gently flattening each into a fritter.
6. Cook for 2–3 minutes on each side, or until golden brown and the egg is cooked through.
7. Serve warm on their own, or with a squeeze of lemon, a dollop of yoghurt, or your favourite chutney or wild pesto.

Tip: If the mixture seems too loose, simply use less egg next time. The onionweed should make up the bulk of the fritter, with just enough egg to bind it together.

We also made a wild pesto consisting of lots of miners lettuce, onionweed, dead nettle, garlic, salt, pepper & a splash of olive oil. We used a food processor for this, so not so 'Alone' friendly, but I'm pretty sure that if you really needed to you could smash this all up with some rocks by the river...

Learn more about all these edible weeds in my Wet Season Foraging Guide