Thursday, April 17, 2014

Spring Greens: Garlic Mustard!

I love spring time and all of the medicinal, nutritious and liver cleansing greens that start popping up in my yard. Pictured here is a pile of Garlic Mustard, Alliaria petiolata, that I picked from my yard a few days ago. It is considered invasive, producing up to 800 seeds per plant and most of my neighbors want it out of their yard as soon as possible. If collected before it flowers it will curb this powerful friend from taking over and I'll have a nice stock of garlic mustard pesto in my freezer. As I learned from Susan Weed the roots make a delicious edible as well as the seeds make a spicy condiment. Here is a link to one of my favorite foraging websites article on Garlic Mustard http://www.eattheweeds.com/garlic-mustard-jack-by-the-hedge-sauce-alone/


Garlic Mustard Pesto
  • 3 c garlic mustard greens, chopped and packed. (Pick greens from an unsprayed area and thoroughly wash and dry them)
  • 1.5 c walnuts
  • 1 tsp- 1tbsp garlic mustard root, sliced
  • 1 c fresh basil, chopped and packed
  • 6 tbsp virgin olive oil
  • Salt to taste
  • 4 ounces Parmesan cheese, grated
  • extra garlic to taste (I'm a garlic fanatic so I often add a few more cloves to the mix)
Process ingredients in food processor, take liberties to adjust ingredients to taste and explore flavoring with other medicinal and culinary herbs

Serve over favorite pasta such as:
  • 8 cups cooked penne pasta

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