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Sydney's wet weather creates perfect conditions for weed-to-plate dining

Bianca Hrovat
Bianca Hrovat

Weed enthusiast Diego Bonetto's book 'Eat Weeds: A Field Guide to Foraging' will be published in May.
Weed enthusiast Diego Bonetto's book 'Eat Weeds: A Field Guide to Foraging' will be published in May.Edwina Pickles

It's raining, it's pouring, and foragers are loving the abundance of edible wild food growing in the forests, fields, and even footpaths of NSW.

"There are wild greens, like dandelions and flat weeds and purslane, sprouting up everywhere," says Gabriel Gutnik, the Sydney-based founder of foraged food purveyor Ziggy's Wild Foods.

"You can see at least a few of these ingredients growing around you each and every day, but people don't understand how valuable they are.

Bonetto's three-weeds salsa verde with nasturtium flowers, dandelion, scurvy weed and rambling dock.
Bonetto's three-weeds salsa verde with nasturtium flowers, dandelion, scurvy weed and rambling dock. Edwina Pickles
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"It's really important we start getting people to interact with the world around them and remove their fear that if it's not on a supermarket shelf it's not usable."

Professional forager and weed-enthusiast Diego Bonetto hopes his forthcoming book Eat Weeds: A field guide to foraging will "bring back botanical literacy" when it is published by Thames & Hudson on May 31.

"I hope it becomes a guide for empowering people to recognise the useful plants in their neighbourhood," he says. "There is food absolutely everywhere."

High rain levels have led to abundant foraging opportunities, says Diego Bonetto.
High rain levels have led to abundant foraging opportunities, says Diego Bonetto. Edwina Pickles

Bonetto runs foraging workshops, where he takes groups of Sydneysiders on "edible adventures" through the Oberon, Lithgow and Southern Highlands forests. By the base of the radiata pine trees, foragers can discover saffron milk cap mushrooms, which are meaty and slightly peppery.

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Slippery jack mushrooms, which are softer and silkier and lend themselves well to Asian cuisines, are more elusive, found in highly mineralised soil near iron deposits.

"We are witnessing the best mushroom season in a long time," Bonetto says. "We are so lucky this year. There are edible mushrooms in the thousands ... It's amazing. If not for the rain, we would not have that."

Pine mushrooms can be found in abundance following periods of rain.
Pine mushrooms can be found in abundance following periods of rain. Justin McManus

Mushroom picking season typically begins in April and runs through May, though this year foragers could find fungi as early as February. Foraging with experts, such as Bonetto, is considered essential to ensuring safe mushroom consumption.

Bonetto's tours have been exceptionally popular this year, selling out more than a month in advance. At Blackheath boutique hotel Kyah, tickets to its foraging events were gone within a week.

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The few people who snagged a spot were taken high into the Blue Mountains to safely gather baskets of mushrooms. These were later transformed into a three-course meal at Kyah's in-house restaurant Blaq.

Diego Bonetto forages for pink peppercorns.
Diego Bonetto forages for pink peppercorns.Archie Rose

"Fresh is always best," says Blaq executive chef Mate Herceg.

"I don't know if it's the feelings of nostalgia, or being surrounded by the beautiful forest, but when we break for lunch and take a few of the mushrooms to cook over the camping stove, they have a different flavour.

"When people take their first mouthful they're like, 'wow'. They haven't tasted anything like it before."

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Gutnik explains foraging tours can yield "highly prized, gourmet mushrooms that every restaurant in the country is dying to get their hands on".

In Nambucca Valley, the wet weather has helped regenerate native plants that once flourished on Caitlin Hockey's family property, allowing her to forage food for her catering business, Bush Grazing.

"Everything on the property was pretty much wiped out in the bushfires [of summer 2019] and since then we've been on a big journey to bring the land back to life," Hockey says.

"Now we have lilly pillies fruiting and the Davidson plum trees are coming back. There's also lemon myrtle, aniseed myrtle, and a lot of yummy, edible weeds."

At Redfern restaurant Bush, co-owner and chef Grant Lawn uses a light touch to integrate foraged food into nostalgic favourites.

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"We make a lasagne with wild boar ragout and wattleseed bechamel, which I think is a cracking dish," Lawn says.

"We're not trying to create a whole new cuisine, we're just trying to see how we can adopt some native ingredients in relatable dishes.

"We just want to add one or two things, then let them shine."

Meanwhile, Lillipad Cafe in Glebe is on a mission to normalise the use of native ingredients in everyday Australian cooking.

Husband and wife team Nyoka and Laszio Hrabinsky worked with Gerry Turpin, the first formally trained Indigenous ethnobotanist in Australia, to develop a menu that paid homage to First Nations flavours.

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Their menu is supplied by foragers across the east coast, and features wattleseed coffee, a salad lush with native greens and a kangaroo burger seasoned with salt bush and pepper leaf.

"There are amazing foods and amazing flavours out there, but people aren't using them," Laszio says.

Three weeds to safely forage in parks and backyards

Australian lilly pilly fruit can be pickled or used to create jam.
Australian lilly pilly fruit can be pickled or used to create jam. iStock

Lilly pilly

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Syzygium, or the Australian lilly pilly, is an evergreen tree that produces a deep, magenta berry in winter. It's readily available in the suburbs, where it's commonly grown as a hedge along fence lines. The fruit is sour and crisp, and lends itself well to pickles, jams and fermented hot sauces.

The leaves, stems and flower buds of the common weed purslane are edible.
The leaves, stems and flower buds of the common weed purslane are edible. Eddie Jim

Purslane

Purslane is a succulent herb commonly found in backyards. It has fleshy, rounded leaves rich in omega-3 and best eaten raw, when the flavour is both sour and sweet. They are traditionally used in Greek salads, where they are served with feta cheese, garlic, tomatoes and olive oil.

Wild fennel

Wild fennel is an invasive species that is in abundance this autumn, and can be found growing by the side of the road and in parks. The plant has soft green leaves and distinctive "yellow umbrella flowers", which are highly coveted for their delicate, aniseed flavour. The seeds can be dried and used as an alternative to store-bought fennel seeds.

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Bianca HrovatBianca HrovatBianca is Good Food's Sydney-based reporter.

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