Pages Menu
Categories Menu
Ensalada de Berro

Ensalada de Berro

In pre-hispanic times indigenous peoples of Meso America identified and selected hundreds of plants for nutritional and medicinal purposes.  Many are still harvested, mostly by indigenous communities and villages.  With a national re-evaluation of their importance to the culture, cuisine, and ecology I want to tell you about them. 

Some of these greens are now commercialized so we don’t need to forge for them.  Have you ever used – cilantro, epazote, verdolagas, chia, and amaranto?  A limited number of fresh herbs and greens commercially grown are available in the US.  I am starting a project to grow from seeds.

Wild Mexican edible greens are known as Quelites.  Quilitl is the Nauhtl word for edible plant and there are hundreds of them botanically identified and known to be part of the pre-hispanic diet and medicine.  Visit any open market in Mexico City and you will find quelites named chaya, quintonil, romeritos, pápalo, huazontle, berros  and many others.  In indigenous communities and villages from the Sierra Nevada’s of Chihuahua to the jungles of Chiapas, hundreds of species are original to Mexico; they add another dimension to Mexican cuisine.  For further details check out this website –  QUELITES. 

 

 

Serves 2

Ingredients

3-4 ounces berro (watercress), stems removed (about 4 cups)

¼ cup red onion slices

2 tablespoons roasted piñones (pine nuts)

1 avocado sliced

Vinaigrette 

1 tablespoon lime juice

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon granulated piloncillo  or brown sugar

salt and pepper

 

 

Preparation

  • Wash berro and remove hard stems.
  • Cut red onion into thin slices and set them in water for 10 minutes.  This reduces the sharpness of the onion.
  • In a small pan without oil, over medium low heat, toast the piñones to a golden color carefully not to burn them.  
  • In a salad bowl, add berro, onion, avocado and piñones.  In a separate container, mix vinaigrette ingredients and shake or stir vigorously to emulsify.  Add vinaigrette to salad and serve.

 

 

 

Note 

Berro (watercress) is not native to Meso America but it is widely used in Mexico as a staple quelite.

It was introduced by European settlers and explorers-who might have used it to counteract scurvy.  Because it’s an invasive nature and subsequent use, it has become important enough in the country to be included in the list of Mexican quelites, in spite of its foreign origin.