Wild Turkey Salad with Dandelion Greens, Wood Sorrel, Greenbrier and Balsamic Herb Vinaigrette

With its combination of fresh, healthy herbs, lean protein, and wild greens, this turkey salad delivers on both taste and nutrition!

Make sure to serve this memorable summer salad with Balsamic Herb Vinaigrette.

Just like my Herb Salad with Edible Flowers, this wild turkey salad has a stunning presentation, with a fresh taste that lifts your spirits like any good salad should.

The Joy of Wild Food Foraging

One of my favorite ways to add color, character, and exotic flavor to my salads is by including foraged wild herbs and greens. Additionally, foraging is a great way to spend quality time together as a family. Having this salad to look forward to makes us forage even harder.

This wild turkey salad is made with three foraged ingredients: dandelion greens, wood sorrel, and greenbrier. Usually, our family usually can find all of them on a five-minute foraging trip in our backyard.

Each herb adds its own element to the dish. However, if you can’t or don’t want to forage, then conventional salad greens will be a fine substitute! However, you may be surprised at how easy these plants are to find around you.

Following are some notes and tips on these wild-growing, hiding-in-plain-sight ingredients for your turkey salad.

As a rule of thumb, avoid any wild herbs and greens that have pesticide residue from spraying or that are very close to a road.

Turkey Salad Forage #1: Dandelion Greens

Believe it or not, dandelion greens—that annoying “weed” growing in your backyard—are a nutrition star. They are also quite tasty.

Dandelions help prevent high blood pressure and may even ward off various forms of cancer. They are beneficial for treating liver disease and can aid in weight reduction.

Raw dandelion greens contain a high amount of vitamins A, C, and K. Additionally, they are packed full of the essential nutrients calcium, potassium, iron, and manganese.

You may know that dandelion tea has medicinal value. But did you know you can easily brew it with some foraged dandelion greens from your own yard?

For your wild turkey salad, select small young leaves that are closest to the inside of the plant. Why? Because those are the sweetest. The oldest leaves on the outside tend to be bitter. Also keep in mind that the best leaves come from dandelion plants that haven’t yet produced their characteristic yellow bloom.

Turkey Salad Forage #2: Greenbrier

Greenbrier is a woody vine in the smilax family. Besides giving us sarsaparilla for root beer, the smilax family of plants includes many species with medicinal value. For example, researchers are currently studying the efficacy of these plants in producing medicine to treat Alzheimer’s and dementia patients.

Greenbrier grows wild in the southeastern U.S. However, you also can find it in most supermarkets.

If you can’t get hold of greenbrier for your turkey salad, no problem—just add more dandelion greens.

Turkey Salad Forage #3: Wood Sorrel

Wood Sorrel is another common plant found all over the world. It’s a member of the Oxalis family. People have been foraging and eating wood sorrel throughout much of human history, so it’s not surprising that this green appears in many different cuisines across the world. 

Wood sorrel has a taste that slightly resembles lemon. The flowering plants often feature bright, colorful bulbs that you can distinguish them by. Common colors are pink and yellow.