As they say... one man's weed is another man's delicacy. But it still struck me as unusual (and exciting) when we dined at On The Pier Restaurant in Batemans Bay last week, to see a green salad on a menu described as weed salad. Most of our commercial salad leaves actually originated from weeds. In fact when I was travelling through Naples a few years ago I was surprised to see thick tufts of healthy rocket growing wild along railway tracks and roadsides.
This weed salad had so many interesting textures and flavours. I could identify wild fennel and fennel fronds, nasturtiums leaves, dandelion leaves, the most pungent micro coriander, rocket, beetroot leaves, and to finsish it off some cucumber and finely sliced red onion all delicately dressed with a dijon mustard vinaigrette. There's so much wild and native food we could be cultivating and enjoying in Australia if we are willing to experiment.
Next we ordered some Crystal Bay prawns and some of the area's famous Clyde River Oysters. They're a Sydney Rock Oyster.
This suggestive close-up shows how creamy and luscious they were!
And of course when you're beside the seaside you have to sample the local fish...
... and chips.
Not bad... a little liberal with the salt and the chips were a tad grainy but everything was fresh.
The weed salad is what will make this meal memorable - oh, and the 43 degree heat outside!
View of the Clyde River from the restaurant
Luscious! I will have to give this restaurant a try next time.
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