If you live anywhere in the United States, I’m sure you have seen this herb that is known as garlic mustard. It is horribly invasive and was brought over from Europe in the late 1800’s for use as a culinary herb. It blooms in spring when the leaves get quite large (up to 8 inches across) and grows 4 small, white flowers. You can easily identify it by the garlicky smell that is given off when the leaves are crushed. It is invasive because it thrives in shaded woodland habitats and will spread its seeds very close to where it blooms. It places a threat to native species and wildlife by competing for light, food, and water. Although it is not necessarily wanted in a gardener’s yard or in the United States’ forests, it does make a tasty cooking ingredient! You can use it to make pesto, hummus, dressing, or even cook it as a vegetable. In fact, there is a book called From Pest to Pesto that gives plenty of ideas on how to cook with garlic mustard. I love this pesto on top of pasta or as a spread on saltine crackers with tomatoes and salt. If you see any of this stuff growing in your yard, you can do the environment a favor by foraging it for dinner that night.
How to identify it: First year plants grow in small rosettes with leaves of about 4-5. The leaves are kidney shaped with ridges on the edges. Second year plants grow into tall stalks. They usually grow about a foot, but can grow up to 4 feet tall. They grow 4 small, white flowers the second year. The ridges become more pronounced in the second year. If you’re still not sure, crush the leaves to see if you can smell garlic.
Ingredients
2 cups garlic mustard leaves, chopped
1 cup chopped walnuts
3/4 cup olive oil
1 cup parmesan
1 tsp. honey or maple syrup
1 tsp sea salt
Directions
Make sure to pick your garlic mustard from an unsprayed area to avoid nasty chemicals. Pick the leaves off and soak them in a bowl of water for at least 20 minutes. Put all ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend until creamy. Cook your pasta of choice and serve pesto on top. Add parmesan and salt to taste. You can also add sautéed vegetables to spice things up.
P.S. I served this with caprese and it was delicious!
If you’re lucky, while you are foraging, you may run into a robin’s nest… I spotted these guys in a honeysuckle tree and was lucky to get pictures while mom was away gathering food.
Seriously…how cute is the little fuzz on their heads?
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