Recipes

Using Edible Weeds

Chickweed:
Stellaria media
Family: Caryophyllaceae/Pink family
Harvest time: Spring and Autumn
It’s often found in lawns and other areas of sun to partial shade in moist soil and produces tiny white flowers throughout the growing season.

Chickweed Pesto
Ingredients
  • 3 medium garlic cloves
  • ¼-½ cup nuts or seeds of your choice
  • 3 cups firmly packed chickweed or other tasty greens eg nettles
  • ¼ cup olive oil or other available oil
  • ¼ cup water
  • 1-3 tbsp lemon juice or apple cider vinegar
  • Salt to taste
Instructions
  • Combine all ingredients into a food processor or blender. If you’re having a hard time getting it to blend all the way, add a little water as needed. Eat with crackers, chips, carrots, peppers, put on pasta, use as a sandwich spread, or pour directly into your mouth.
Notes:
  • Chickweed is excellent for gut health and aids in digestion by improving circulation to the digestive tract. It is packed with calcium, magnesium, and zinc.
  • For an all natural spring “cleanse” eat chickweed with nettles and wild mushrooms. 
  • Feed it to the chooks - they love it !
Other Uses:
  1. Add to your smoothie. If you can taste a chickweed flavour when it's finished, add lemon juice which will mask the flavour. 
  2. Chop up with scissors and add to your salads.
  3. Herbal actions: laxative, demulcent, refrigerant, anti-Inflammatory.  A poultice of chickweed can be especially useful topically for inflammation, abscesses, and anything itchy.  Internally, it’s a gentle laxative and is soothing to the digestive tract.  Not surprisingly, this cooler-weather plant is also cooling to the system.
Nutrition:
It contains vitamins A, D, B complex, C, rutin (a bioflavinoid), calcium, potassium, phosphorus, zinc, manganese, sodium, copper, iron and silica. In comparison with spinach, chickweed holds up extremely well. It's got just as much iron, along with other nutrients.

Salads

Chickweed Salad
Recipe: Chickweed SaladFor the salad:
  • 6 cups chickweed, rinsed, and chopped very finely  (or a mix of other salad greens)
  • 1-2 cups olives or dried cranberries
  • ½ cups soft goat cheese, ricotta or yoghurt cheese
  • 1/2 cup roasted sunflower or pumpkin seeds,
Dressing:
  • 1/3up fresh basil leaves (or other fresh herbs)
  • 1 cup olive oil
  • 2 tbsp lemon juice
  • 1/8 cup (2 tbsp) honey
  • 1.5 tsp celtic sea or unrefined sea salt