In a Mallow Mood

In my ongoing attempts to appreciate the 'bounty all around me'- today I had a go at yet another 'edible weed'- Mallow.

I think it's worth pointing out at this moment that 'weed' is a relative term- and whilst it can be applied to heavily seeding, fast growing items, it's more often than not applied to plants that are simply growing where we don't want them to. Making the common definition of a weed just 'a plant out of place'.

In this respect, I am beginning to look at weeds in a new light, and in fact not classing them as weeds at all anymore. I understand that you can't eat them all, but that doesnt' stop them being useful in ways that we are not aware of, and it certainly encourages me to weed my garden more selectively.  

So after the success of the chickweed dinner, here is the taste test of Mallow.

I found this recipe at the lovely blog: Veggie Way and the original recipe can be found here, but as the original comes from a beautiful vegetarian website, the recipe below has some minor alterations, including the addition of chicken stock. 

Most importantly, you need to be able to identify mallow and then test it to make sure it doesn't make you nauseaus- as with any foraged food that you are dealing with for the first time.

Mallow-carrot rice

Ingredients:

• a freshly picked bunch of mallow, leaves removed from stalks- if you forage for them, make sure you trust the area you are picking from and that they have not bee sprayed with weed killer etc.
  
• 2 radishes, tops and all, diced and chopped
• 1 large brown onion, peeled and diced
  
• 2 carrots, peeled and chopped
  
• 1/4 cup of rice, washed and drained
  
• 1/2 cup of chicken or veg stock
  
• 2 tbs tomato paste
  
• 2 tbs olive oil
  
• salt,pepper to taste
  
• Squeeze of lemon juice to finish

Method:

Wash the Mallow leaves thoroughly. Heat the oil in a heavy based saucepan and sauté the onion until golden. Add the carrots to the pan and saute for about 5 minutes. Add the radish to the pan and then add tomato paste and stir into the mixture. Add the chopped mallows, rice, salt, pepper and chicken stock. Cover and cook on low heat until the rice is tender enough- about half an hour. Serve with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice.

Mallow dosen't appear to be terribly flavourful on it's own, more like a green filler. But there is plenty of it around, so it's a great way to cut food miles, costs and fill up- if that's what you're looking for. For me? I'm just interested in knowing more about the food around me. It seems a willful and ignorant thing not to take an interest. Stay tuned for more weed eating adventures and recipes to come.

*Note: we are hail and hearty after eating Mallow and the dish was so tasty, we'll be making it again. 

 

Chickweed & lentils

I have been gripped by the foraging bug. And having just discovered that my garden supports a very healthy colony of edible chickweed, I'm giving it a go. It took a bit of persuading to get my other half (let's call him Patience) in on the racket. But here's how we introduced edible weeds to our diet. 

Lentil, Radish and Chickweed salad:

Ingredients:

• 1 cup puy/french lentils cooked as per packet, drained and rinsed- but still warm.
  
• large bunch of chickweed freshly pulled from your garden (or anywhere else you trust enough to forage from), washed and torn up.
  
• 4 radishes, tops and all (ours came straight from the vege patch), root minced and leaves shredded. 
  
• 1/2 a brown onion
• Salt/Pepper/Lemon/Olive oil to dress

Method:

Cook lentils as per packet instructions. While the lentils are still warm, heat a drizzle of olive oil in a frypan and toss all ingredients together to wilt the greens. Season with dressing items to taste. Serve with boiled baby potato's or crusty bread for a filling, fresh and nutrient rich dinner. The more recently the items are pulled from the garden the better, you want to capture all those nutrients and antioxidants while you can.

*NOTE: With any garden or foraged item (as with anything you plan to eat), it is essential that you are 100% sure of what you are eating and that it has been thoroughly washed. 

It was just delicious! So much so that I went back for seconds. The chickweed adds a different and very earthy flavour to the mix.

Society note: I have to say that right now I am a little confused and incredulous. History says that native/wild/foraged

 foods sustained the Aboriginal communities of Australia for over 60,000 years- and yet current reports say that in remote and outback communities where food costs have more impact, individuals are eating nutrient poor, prepackaged, sugar rich foods more than ever. Surely in the face of 'food security concerns' a better understanding of native/bush/foraged foods is essential for Australian's from an early age? Why is this food knowledge not being passed on? Where other cultures embrace their foraging traditions, what are we in Australia so afraid of? I'm just keeping an eye out for more chickweed and now Murnong... so that when I can no longer afford groceries thanks to the GFC, at least I won't be reduced to a diet of sugar.