Bermuda Buttercup’s Sour, Bright Flavor Is Great for Cooking

There is one cautionary note about eating Bermuda buttercup, and it is related to quantity. Like some other plants (sorrel, lambs quarter, and spinach come to mind), it is high in oxalates. Eating a large quantity, regularly, would be anti-nutritional (oxalates bind calcium, making it unavailable) as well as bad for ailing kidneys. If you suffer from any kidney problem, it is probably a food to avoid.

I use no more than a few tablespoons at a time, precisely because it is so sour. Any more would result in a permanent pucker.

Leafy Green Tart with Bermuda Buttercup

Recipe adapted from Forage, Harvest, Feast – A Wild-Inspired Cuisine.

Adaptable to any leafy greens, this crisp tart is delicious eaten hot, at once, or cold, at a picnic. If Bermuda buttercup does not grow where you live, substitute sorrel or sheep sorrel. If you use nettles for this tart, blanch them by covering them in boiling water and cooking for about 5 minutes (spinach and chard need much less water, but nettles have those stings).

Filling

1½ lbs spinach, or: Swiss chard leaves (use the stems like this), nettles, lamb’s quarter, amaranth, quickweed
3 Tablespoons chopped Bermuda buttercup stems
1 cup crème fraîche or sour cream
½ cup whipping cream
3 large egg yolks
1 large egg
¼ teaspoon salt
Black pepper, lots

Olive Oil Pastry

• 2 ¼ cups all purpose flour
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 125 ml extra virgin olive oil
• ½ cup tepid water

The pastry does not need to rest or chill, so make the filling first.

For the filling: In a large pot bring an inch of water to a boil over high heat. Pack in the leafy greens and cover. Cook over high heat for about 2 minuets, then stir. Cook for another 2 minutes. The leaves should be just-tender but vividly green. Drain the leaves through a colander. Refresh with cold water and then squeeze them dry as possible in your hands. Now roll them up in clean kitchen towels to press out any residual moisture. Chop the leaves roughly, and reserve.

In a bowl beat the egg yolks and whole egg with the crème fraîche, cream, salt, and about 15 twists of black pepper. Add the chopped greens and the Bermuda buttercup and stir gently to combine. Dip a finger in to taste for seasoning, unless the raw eggs bother you. In which case…don’t. Add more salt, if necessary.

For the pastry: Combine all the pastry ingredients in bowl and stir to combine. Form into a ball.

To assemble: Preheat the oven to 400°F. Oil, or line a baking sheet with baking parchment.

On a clean surface, roll out the pastry into a disc about 12 inches in diameter. Transfer it to the sheet. Using your fingers, turn up its edges, crimping them to form a lip to contain the filling.  Gently tip in the filling and spread evenly. Bake for 40 – 45 minutes until the pastry is crisp and the center of the tart is set.

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