Chickweed Stellaria media is a highly nutritious plant popular in Victorian times with the leisure class for use in salads and sandwiches. Today it is called a weed.
I discovered this luscious patch of chickweed when searching for hen greens down our valley near the pond. A windrow of soil from the sediment was made when we reconstructed the pond in January.
Never curse the arrival of chickweed. It indicates that your soil has a balanced pH and is fertile. Apart from the sediment being rich in organic matter the chickweed has grown larger in the windrow because its location is moist and has some shade.
Not only will the hens benefit from this terrific patch of chickweed, so will I.
My first thought is to use it in a salad but unlike the previous salad posting it won’t just be an extra it will be the green star …because of it’s size and lushness. I added some freshly shelled walnuts I purchased from Valda at the Otago Farmers Market, a few olives, and my favourite for lunchtime salads – fried Halloumi cheese. Dressing is just a squirt of lemon juice and a splash of avocado oil.
A warning though – chickweed doesn’t do well under refrigeration, you need to plan to use it on the day it is picked. So after my lunch I decided to use the rest with some Italian parsley that also needed to be harvested before being trampled to death by builders boots.
I filled my food processor with around 50/50 chickweed and parsley – removing the long stems off both, so it was mainly leaf.
This really reduces down when chopped. I crushed a small clove of garlic in salt and added it to the chopped greens.
Then the freshly shelled walnuts (you can use any nuts you like). Pour in extra virgin olive oil to make a puree.
Mix in a little parmesan if you want a more creamy texture and finish off with a squeeze of lemon juice. The lemon juice prevents the pesto from losing it’s bright green colour and also adds an acid flavour balance. Squeeze, then taste, then add more. You are better to be conservative and add to taste when it comes to lemon juice or vinegar.
Finally drizzle over some oil to give the pesto some real gloss.
This pesto can be kept for at least a week in the fridge and there are lots of ways you can use this nutritious spread in a sandwich, pizza, added to pasta or as a flavour boost to any number of dishes.
Chickweed is recognised for its medicinal qualities and a tissane or tea is used to reduce water retention in the body. It can be made into vinegar or an ointment and used as a poultice. It has been called a gardeners first aid plant because it is said to draw out splinters in a much gentler way than a pair of tweezers will. You can use a poultice or dip your finger into a strong tea solution…and it is also good for relieving nettle stings.
Raw it has a good helping of vitamin C and even has vitamin B, assorted minerals, and potassium and all for free in your garden. It is most abundant late winter early spring and is best harvested before it produces it’s tiny star like white flowers and equally tiny seedpods. Give it a go!
Jeannie's Kitchen 