Crafting a wild stock

Put on your apron, and maybe your boots – it’s time to make soup! Soup warms the bones, nourishes the body and lifts the spirits. This is especially true of wild soup inspired by your surrounding woodlands, slumbering garden and preserved summer bounty. It’s simple. Any soup becomes wild when prepared with a wild stock.

Likely you’ve already got a stock recipe. Perhaps yours is like mine – fill a pot with water, throw in a heap of veggie scraps, a handful of herbs, onions, garlic, salt and simmer. To make wild soup stock, simply add wild ingredients. No arduous woods walk required. Much of what you’ll use comes from the yard and hopefully, your pantry. If the pantry is barren, invite a forager friend and tell them to bring their fare. Foragers are usually happy to share.

A key ingredient is medicinal mushrooms. Mushrooms such as reishi and turkey tail are hard and woody when fresh and when dried, the texture of leather. Not great for eating, but perfect for stock. Reishi grows shelf-like from pines in early summer and should be harvested and dried then, but turkey tail blossoms on stumps year-round. These adaptogenic mushrooms support healthy immune function and can mitigate the stress response. Use about a slice for every 1-2 cups of water.

Next think roots. Dandelion and burdock are sure to grow nearby. Harvest roots, wash well. Throw them in chopped, minced, fresh or dried. These hearty taproots provide a wealth of vitamins and minerals, and also inulin, a prebiotic fructo-oligosaccharide that feeds our healthy gut flora. Dandelion and burdock are traditional cleansing herbs too, which can be particularly appreciated after weeks of holiday feasting.

Lastly, look to leafy herbs. Some, like dandelion leaves, you may find fresh. Others, like nettle leaves, you’ll use dried. These, too, are cleansing and nutritive, and contain flavonoids that have been shown to reduce inflammation. For flavor, reach for pungent herbs like dried bee balm with a flavor reminiscent of thyme. Peer around the yard for tufts of onion grass or garlic mustard, both of which can survive cold weather and add a good kick.

Combine your stock ingredients and let your pot simmer for a good long while. Strain stock and freeze excess. Enjoy wild soup all winter long.