Tofu for Two

This is just a simple recipe to remind us that not everything edible comes from a supermarket. The name of goutweed reveals a lot – it’s generally thought of as a weed that should be rooted up, not as a green leafy vegetable. The young sprouts can be eaten raw, in salads or on sandwiches, but even the leaves that have grown a tad larger are edible, and can be used much like spinach. Goutweed has an interesting aroma, a little salty and a little sharp – delicious in a simple soup like this one.

Wild vegetables should never be picked from road banks or anywhere close to heavy traffic. It’s also important to know exactly what you’re looking for – we were happy to have the advice from Heikki’s mom, who’s been trying to root up the goutweed from her allotment garden for the last few decades!

Here’s what we had in our soup:

• 5 dl goutweed (lightly packed), rinsed and chopped
• 5 dl veggie stock
• 2/3 dl semi-dry white wine (we had Portuguese vinho verde)
• 2 onions, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, sliced
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 1 dl fresh bread crumbs (the insides of a baguette, for example)
• oat cream and chives

I first fried the onion and the garlic in the oil on medium heat for about 12 minutes, until they started to turn golden but not yet brown. Then I added the white wine, and let it come to a brisk boil. I added the veggie stock and goutweed, heated the soup until it was boiling again, and simmered it for one minute. Now, I removed the pot from heat, added the bread crumbs, and used our immersion blender to purée the soup.

After plating the soup, I drizzled our portions with a little oat cream and sprinkled with chives.

Fresh goutweed leaves.