I've heard nasturtium is good in salads. I've grown the plants before, and just started seeds 2 days ago. Has anyone ever tried them? I'm curious what the taste is. I'm growing the plants in an organic fashion to eliminate any poisons. Any recipe suggestions are more than welcome!
I use nasturtium leaves and flowers (both are edible) in salads. The leaves taste like lettuce but with a slightly peppery taste.
Thanks Eileen The plants have just poked threw the top of the soil so it will be a while. I'm curious about a salad. I'll try a few leaves when the plants mature.
Don't forget to use the flowers too. They're very decorative on top of the salad or on dinner plates. I hope your dinner guests won't think you're a nutcase when you serve flowers. Mine did.
I have tried the flowers, I found mine to be almost hot. I haven't eaten them since, but perhaps, like radishes, the soil nutrient value contributes to the peppery-ness.
RJ these are the types of nasturtium I'm growing this year: Tutti Frutti Empress of India Tall single (mixed) Tom Thumb Peach Melba. I'll allow quite a few flowers from each type to form seeds so that I can grow them again next year. Here are a couple of recipes I use the flowers for. Stuffed Nasturtium Flowers Mix 8 ounces softened cream cheese with 2 Tablespoons finely minced chives or other herbs of your choice. Stuff the mixture into nasturtium flowers and place on a tray that has been lined with nasturtium leaves. Serve at room temperature. Nasturtium Lemon Butter. This butter has a mild lemon/pepper flavor and a colorful appearance. It is wonderful on fish, chicken and vegetables. This is also great on those small party breads too. 1/2 cup unsalted butter softened 1-2 teaspoons grated lemon peel (according to taste) 1 tablespoon lemon juice 3 tablespoons finely chopped nasturtium blossoms Mix all of the ingredients well until smooth and well blended. Refrigerate or freeze until ready to serve. Makes 3/4 cup flavored butter. You can also serve the flowers with ginger ice cream as a sweet. The leaves are perfect for fitting on to the top of a burger instead of lettuce - they are the perfect shape too!!
