Enrique García Gómez presents a book on edible wild plants of the Iberian Peninsula

The forestry engineer and doctor in Environmental Engineering, Enrique García Gómez, presented this Thursday evening at the Círculo de Arte a very novel and current book in which he reclaims the power of plants as a historical and traditional human food source: 'Edible Wild Plants of the Iberian Peninsula', a book edited by Amat Editorial that is already in bookstores. 'We have lost that value that plants have historically had due to the development of society, changes in habits and customs, the greater purchasing power of people, that is, all these plants that our ancestors knew since prehistory and that were consumed habitually, unfortunately have fallen into disuse,' says the author, adding that with this work he intends to make them known. From sorrel to blackberry, passing through mallow, arugula or violet, each entry in the book opens the door to a new way of relating to the territory. With a close and accessible approach, this work combines botany, ethnography and gastronomy, and offers detailed descriptions and key tips to identify each species. 'They are treasures that nature offers us for free,' clarifies Enrique García. The chef with two Michelin stars, Iván Cerdeño, also collaborated in the book, who with seven recipes gives these plants a new twist. In many cases, these plants were considered food for the poor, for subsistence, but now they can be haute cuisine. 'Seven wild plants that people call weeds, which they are not, they are competing weeds, adventitious, wild, and they can make exquisite dishes that any palate would like to taste,' he notes. There are 41 different species that are distributed more or less throughout the Iberian Peninsula, where there is 'a great contrast of soil, climate, rainfall, but all of them are found in the vast majority of Spanish provinces so that it is easy to locate them, distinguish them and pick them for personal or shared use,' confesses Enrique García, who is dedicated to the management of the natural environment and works with forests, with wild species, with the revaluation of the natural environment.