Goat or Lamb Tongue Salad with Salsa Verde

Name: Goat or Lamb Tongue Salad with Herb Salsa Verde
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 90 min
Total time: 105 min
Ingredients: 3 goat or lamb tongues; ½ cup dry white wine; Aromatic vegetables; 1 small carrot; 1/2 a small onion; 1 rib celery; A few slices of fresh ginger; 1 large clove garlic; 8 cups of water (separated in half); 6 oz salad greens * (see note); Fresh soft herbs (like mint, cilantro, basil, chives, etc); 1 recipe wild oregano sauce * (see recipe or just olive oil and lemon juice); Wildflowers (to garnish, optional); Fresh ground black pepper (to taste, optional); Fresh lemon wedges (for serving); Sumac (to garnish, optional)

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Tender, delicious, and refreshing on a hot day. Lamb tongue salad is a great way to enjoy a special cut of lamb. Here I simmer them in a fragrant vegetable stock before slicing and laying on a bed of fresh greens with a tangy herb salsa verde dressing and a colorful garnish of fresh wildflowers.

Tender lamb tongue salad with fresh spring greens, edible wild flowers and tangy herb dressing.

To make the dish, the tongues are simmered in water until tender, then cooled, peeled and sliced. The entire process is demonstrated in the video.

For the salad, chef uses a blend of tender, young wild greens goats might like to eat, like chickweed, ground elder, and watercress, along with a few leaves of wild mint. The greens and herbs can be whatever you have available, but a mix of tender young salad-ready leaves like lettuces, watercress, or others are just fine. If you have edible wildflowers available they add a beautiful touch. Edible phlox flowers and wild dames rocket are pictured in this post.

Lamb and goat tongues may be smaller than beef, but they’re just as tasty.

The salsa verde is a tart, herby sauce made from herbs, garlic, lemon juice and olive oil. Chef uses some wild oregano (Bergamot / Monarda fistulosa) but oregano or cilantro will work just fine too. As it’s hard to make less than about 2 cups of salsa verde, know that the leftover sauce doubles as a great condiment for grilled meats and vegetables, and just about anything else you’d like to put it on.

Wild oregano or Monarda fistulosa. Fresh oregano is a good substitute.

Chef Alan Bergo, The Forager Chef

This recipe is by James Beard Award-winning Chef Alan Bergo, a chef from Minnesota and author of The Forager Chef’s Book of Flora. Learn more about Chef Alan at foragerchef.com.

Looking to buy lamb or goat online? Shepherd Song Farm: Grass to table. We raise lambs & goats traditionally, humanely and sustainably. 100% Grass Fed, Pasture Raised, Never Confined, no Hormones, Grains or Animal Byproducts. Born, raised and processed in the U.S.A. Good for you and good for the environment.

The finished salad is fresh, bright, and colorful.

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Goat or Lamb Tongue Salad with Herb Salsa Verde

Tender cooked goat or lamb tongues with a tangy herb sauce makes for a nice light entree or lunch.

Course Appetizer, Main Course, Salad

Cuisine American, Italian

Keyword Goat Tongue, Lamb Tongue, Salsa verde, Wildflowers

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 1 30

Total Time 1 45

Servings People

Calories 309kcal

Cost 10

Equipment

1 3 quart soup pot
1 mixing bowl

Ingredients

Tongues

3 goat or lamb tongues
½ cup dry white wine
Aromatic vegetables
1 small carrot
1/2 a small onion
1 rib celery
A few slices of fresh ginger
1 large clove garlic
8 cups of water separated in half

Salad and herbs

6 oz salad greens * see note
Fresh soft herbs like mint, cilantro, basil, chives, etc
1 recipe wild oregano sauce * see recipe or just olive oil and lemon juice
Wildflowers to garnish, optional
Fresh ground black pepper to taste, optional
Fresh lemon wedges for serving
Sumac to garnish, optional

Instructions

Cook the tongues

Put the tongues in a small pot, cover with half the water, bring to a boil, then discard the water, add the vegetables and wine, along with the remaining water, cover bring to a brisk simmer and cook, covered for 2 hours, or until the tongues are tender when pierced with a knife.

Peel the tongues

Remove the tongues to a bowl, rinse with warm water until you can handle them, then transfer to a cutting board and peel. After peeling, cut the tongues into ¼ inch slices and reserve.

Assembling and serving

Mix the greens and herbs together in a bowl, then arrange between large dinner plates. Divide the slices of tongue equally between the plates, sprinkle each slices lightly with salt, sumac and pepper, then spoon some of the herb sauce over everything. Garnish with the wildflowers if using and serve.