Nasturtium as a Vegetable
I have not got into the habit of eating Nasturtium and it may be too late for me to start at my age. However my vegetarian children take a different view.
Eating Nasturtium
- The leaves of the nasturtium plant are edible, with a peppery flavour, that can tossed into salads.
- The flowers make a unique garnish to fresh foods and add a splash of colour.
- The seed pods can be treated like Capers and pickled or used as a crunchy addition to salads.
- For tastiest nasturtium leaves, keep the plants well watered, which helps to moderate the spiciness of the leaves and flowers.
- According to Reneesgarden ..’I prefer to toss them among sweeter greens like butterhead or crunchy Batavian lettuce, rather than with other bitter greens. They add a refreshing bite to a classic potato salad with hard-boiled eggs and a mayonnaise dressing, and pair well with seafood. A handful of the bright colored flower petals are delicious chopped into a shrimp or crab salad sandwich filling, and the whole flowers and leaves make a great garnish for a platter of grilled salmon.’
- You can buy Nasturtium seeds from Thompson & Morgan
Growing Watercress
- Watercress is called Nasturtium Officinale or Nasturtium Microphyllum
- It can be grown in gardens with chalk streams or a good supply of water as a semi-aquatic plant
- Buy watercress with roots on at your local supermarket
- Watyercress from Thompson & Morgan
- An ordinary bunch placed in a bowl of fresh clean water will develop roots. Discard any that turn yellow or do not root and plant the rest.
- You can grow watercress in a container but keep it well watered.
