Nikki Brighton’s verdant way with uncultivated food

Pesto: try making pesto with carrot tops, coriander, gallant soldier or rocket. (Photo: Supplied)

14 Mar 2025

We asked Nikki Brighton to explain why humans should consider a diet that is very green and close to home — the diet of a locavore, or even her preferred self-description of invasivore.

Nikki Brighton is an enthusiastic locavore, a forager, food activist and author, who has been nibbling on wild things for years. But what on earth is a locavore?

Being a locavore means that her food is all sourced close to where she lives in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands. She knows exactly who grew the potatoes, carrots, corn and coriander on her plate. It means knowing where the cow (whose milk becomes cheese) lives, that the salt in the dish is not mined on a different continent, and that kombucha and bread are made using the wild yeasts and microorganisms endemic to the region.

However, Nikki takes things a step further. As an ardent admirer of uncultivated food — the invasive weeds growing abundantly all around us in unexpected places — she embraces a hyper-local diet and describes herself as an invasivore.

Nikki hosts immersive experiences across South Africa focused on finding and tasting edible weeds in gardens and public spaces. Workshop participants describe her enthusiasm and knowledge as life changing. She believes that reconnecting to wildish places is vital for human health.

While the days are still long, start walking more, absorbing sunlight in as many ways as you can with a renewed sense of wonder for the abundance available around us.

“Foraged food will surprise your palate,” she says. “Go on, try it.”

Here are Nikki Brighton’s expert tips on living life on her verdant terms:

Nibble as you go

Nasturtium: rampant groundcover with cheerful flowers. Add flowers to your pesto too. (Image by Светлана from Pixabay)

Eating is all about getting the energy of the sun into your body. The easiest and most direct way is to eat green plants, crammed with chlorophyll. Photosynthesis is the process whereby plants absorb energy from sunlight, transforming it into food that we can eat. Chlorophyll (the green stuff) is an incredible antioxidant that helps us fight infections and builds our immune systems. This is found in abundance in uncultivated food, a.k.a. edible weeds.

Our bodies convert ultraviolet radiation into essential vitamin D, so it makes sense that while we are out walking, absorbing sunshine through our skin, we should be boosting essential nutrients from the inside too.

Street food: bunny chow, amagwinya or hot dogs?

Nettle: nettle loses its famous sting when pounded. Pick leaves carefully. (Photo: Supplied)

No. Try the free food growing in the cracks in our pavements, along the verges outside suburban homes, and unkempt edges in parking lots. Once you start looking, it’s astonishing how much nutrient-dense food is available all around us. Edible weeds are found everywhere that you find humans — farmyards in KwaZulu-Natal, homesteads in the Eastern Cape, abandoned fields in the Free State and Mpumalanga, urban edges in Johannesburg and feral Cape veggie gardens.

Culture and food are interwoven across the world, with locally abundant ingredients determining the tastes that we prefer. In South Africa, where many people have recently become urbanised, food memories include hearty, home-grown food with easy to store staples enhanced by an array of wild greens aka imifino or morogo.

Not long ago our ancestors foraged for much of their food. In the process of abandoning wild ingredients, our diets have become impoverished. The perception that wild greens are “poor people’s food” needs to be challenged. They are, in fact, jam packed with nutrients, often surpassing that of more commonly eaten leafy greens.

Our palates have been compromised by salt, sugar and fat, so feral flavours might take some getting used to. However, once you start nibbling on nettles and dandelions regularly, your tongue and tummy wake up to these delicious flavours.

Start looking at the place where you live differently; soon you will recognise some of the plants as edible. Certainly, this food is a lot better for your body and the planet than the more popular kind found in supermarkets. Foraged food ticks all the conscious consumption boxes — in season, zero food miles, unfertilised.

Imbuya | thepe | amaranthus

Amaranthus: Amaranthus hybridus is one of the most common wild greens and grows profusely in poor soils. (Photo: Supplied)

Amaranthus hybridus is one of the most common wild greens and grows profusely in poor soils, requiring little watering or attention. There are many varieties — green or red, tall, prickly or creeping. It is versatile and can be used wherever greens are called for in a recipe.

Amaranthus leaves have heaps more vitamin C than cabbage or Swiss chard — just 50g contains 100% of our daily needs. The leaves are rich in protein, beta-carotene, iron, calcium, carbohydrates, fibre and essential amino-acids. Leaves can be dried and stored for winter use. Seeds contain more protein than most other grains.

Lilly Pilly

Lilli Pilly: a Brighton favourite. (Photo: Supplied)

Many people remember eating these tart vitamin C-rich fruits when they were children. Syzygium luehmannii (originally from Australia) is a popular street tree in many parts of South Africa.

In late summer, verges are strewn with shiny red fruit just waiting for someone to pick them up. The flavour is fruity, musky, and a little spicy too. Should you fill your pockets, scatter them on top of roast pumpkin or add them to a fruit salad when you get home.

The fruit can be pickled, made into chutney, and added to cakes, tarts and ice cream. They last well in the fridge and can be frozen for use out of season. Lilly Pilly fruit is high in antioxidants that strengthen the immune system, reduce inflammation, and boost collagen production within the skin.

Wild green pesto

Pesto: try making pesto with carrot tops, coriander, gallant soldier or rocket. (Photo: Supplied)

4 cups nasturtium/nettle/chickweed/gallant soldier or other feral leaves

1 garlic clove

Half a cup of sunflower seeds

100ml of olive oil

A good pinch of salt

Gather the greens and gently remove leaves from the stems. Chop them up a little. Pound sunflower seeds with garlic and salt. You could use a blender, but you are on holiday now, so savour the process of making pesto by hand. Add the chopped leaves and keep pounding the ingredients together to make a paste. Fabulous with good bread, potatoes, gnocchi, pasta or a hearty vegetable soup.

Rewilding

After many decades of farmers and gardeners trying to kill “weeds”, there has been a global shift towards kinder, regenerative practices.

It is now well understood that rapidly growing pioneer species (usually called weeds) are important for healthy soil. Not only do the roots mine minerals from deep below the surface, but they also create pathways for water, air, microorganisms and mycelium to do the work of building soil.

Over millennia, humans and animals have co-evolved with landscapes — learning exactly where to find the food necessary for survival in each season. Free-foraging animals consume 50 to 100 different plants, whereas modern humans rely on just 15 plant species for 90% of their diet. Animals have self-medicated successfully for 65 million years without any assistance from mankind and, nowadays, even domesticated livestock are still able to select appropriate nutrition from a diverse rangeland, adopting innovative survival strategies in constantly changing habitats.

Perhaps, as we humans remember our foraging roots, we too shall be able to self-medicate, a.k.a. graze, as we wander.

Explore more

The best way to learn is to be curious. Ideally, join a foraging walk with an expert to help you to identify common wild plants that are edible in your area. All you need to start with is two or three plants that you feel confident about and before you know it, with a little guide in your pocket, you will be adding wild greens full of vitality to your hiking snacks, salads and smoothies.

Nikki Brighton’s Wild Books

Nikki has compiled three books to assist you on your foraging journey:

Mnandi — a taste of Mpophomeni

A colourful recipe book that celebrates the cooks and gardeners of Mpophomeni township in KwaZulu-Natal Midlands and includes a section on commonly eaten imifino aka wild greens.

Wild About Weeds — an introduction to uncultivated food

A guide to common edible weeds and uncultivated foods found in South Africa. The book is intended to stimulate curiosity and encourage foodies to explore. It is full of ideas on how to make the most of the delicious abundance of your area and lighten your load on our planet. It has 140 pages, 48 common plants (including botanical name and common names), 150 photographs, and 30 recipes.

Edible Weeds — identify uncultivated food

This pocket-sized reference book that easily fits in your back pocket, will turn ordinary walks into exciting food explorations, with photos, descriptions to help with identification and a simple list of how you might eat what you find. It has 128 pages, and 58 common plants with photographs. DM

Copies of Nikki Brighton’s books are available from selected stores across South Africa or directly from the author. [email protected]

To enquire about an inspiring walk, talk, workshop or wild meal contact Nikki [email protected] Coming up in March: Nikki will be hosting workshops in Gauteng.

Follow the feral adventures on social media:

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/plantabundanceza/

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/plantabundance/

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