Photography by Marie Viljoen and Vincent Mounier.
For foragers, gardeners, and cooks, travel is doubly rewarding. Wherever I travel, excursions automatically turn into impromptu foraging expeditions, the only common theme being the element of surprise.
Like all good things (allegedly), foraging begins at home, in the suburb of Constantia. At the damp tail end of winters when there has been rain, invasive three-cornered leeks (Allium triquetrum) dominate damp and shady places, like these on an upper section of The Alphen Trail.
The Alphen Trail, Constantia
Spring forage baskets yield a trove of edible plants that are 100 percent green lighted in terms of sustainability three cornered leeks edible from bulb to flower sow thistles Sonchus...
...oleraceus and Oxalis pes caprae or suuring an indigenous and prolific sour stemmed oxalis which has now invaded the West Coast of the United States on behalf of South Africans sorry
And what do you do when you walk over a sand dune at the beach and find yourself unexpectedly ankle deep in a luscious colony of veldkool (Trachyandra divaricata, in this case— there is more than one edible species)?
First Light Foods
Then there are organized outings. He and his fiancée, Beverley Klein, are the co-owners of wild food startup First Light Foods.
On a mushroom walk with Justin (ticket price $25, for more information see The Mushroom Forager) in a pine plantation above Hout Bay, collaborator and Veld and Sea founder Roushanna Gray provided a whimsical and mushroom-themed picnic.
And then we hit the road, driving northeast from Cape Town into the Karoo for 250 miles. The little indigenous blue felicias in the foreground are a staple darling of the international nursery trade, and it is enlightening and charming to see domesticated plants on their home turf.
Weltevrede Fig & Guest Farm
Diverted by flowers, we made many stops along the way. It is the species relative of the ubiquitous African daisy hybrids of the gardening world.
At last we reached our home for two nights. Seemingly in the middle of nowhere, it is one of several impressive accommodations offered by Weltevrede, the working fig farm where we first stopped to pick up our keys and directions.
Photograph by Vincent Mounier.
Karoo violets (Aptosimum indivisum) are embroidered floral cushions in miniature, growing in tussocks no higher than four inches.
Mesembryanthemum crystallinum is commonly called soutslaai —meaning salt salad, and known as ice plant in English. It has deliciously crunchy and juice-filled leaves.
Sweet prickly pears, ice plant, species of Tetragonia, and escaped arugula joined our nightly supper salads.
Photograph by Vincent Mounier.
Hantam, Northern Cape Province
Turning west in an arc of just under 300 miles brings you to the Hantam region of the Northern Cape Province. After good winter rains this is unapologetic Flower Central in springtime and an international botanical hotspot.
Like so many plants in shoot form (at the meristematic stage, when they are actively growing), veldkool does resemble asparagus. Its flavor is unique and is hard to compare with any other vegetable I know.
After several luxurious nights at Papkuilsfontein we dialed down considerably, and made a tiny, spartan cottage called Brandkop our home for a couple of nights.
Brandkop Guest Farm
We cooked over a fire, ate dinner by candlelight, under a vast sky of stars, and spent our days listening to birdcalls and exploring the surrounding countryside.
One night I made a veldkool bredie—a slow-cooked mutton stew with excellent meat provided by our hosts, who farm free-range sheep a few miles up the road. More information about Brandkop Guest Farm.
Babylonstoren
And then we were homebound, again, but not before being spoiled at Babylonstoren, the wine farm and famed kitchen garden near Cape Town.
One of the major perks of being an overnight guest on the farm is that you are allowed to browse at will in the enchanted gardens. It is like being a child again, let loose in a vast, edible playground.
Photograph by Vincent Mounier.
Although Babel, the gleaming restaurant on site, produces gorgeous meals, we stayed home one night in our cottage, to prepare in the glass-walled kitchen what we had foraged for ourselves – both legitimate crops and edible weeds (lush lamb’s quarters, top row beside the scallions).
A walk in the hills above the vineyards yielded wild rosemary (Eriocephalus africanus), one of my favorite South African herbs.
A quick trip to the deeply tempting farm shop provided us with eggs.
And a familiar canapé (I bring a version on all the forage walks I lead in New York) took shape: wild rosemary dipping salt, with just-cooked quails’ eggs.
The 10 day trip will include fynbos foraging near Cape Point with Roushanna Gray of Veld Sea see our story identifying indigenous plants walking up Table Mountain and...
...visiting Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden with a botanical guide sipping fynbos gin cocktails with local industry friends and a fabled garden tour and farm to table lunch at Babylonstoren
The eye tuned to botanical detail is one that is perennially amused and fascinated.