recipes for chickweed

Gail H

Right now I have a lot of very nice chickweed. I use it in salads, but it's a little "stemmy" to use as the sole green in a salad. Does anyone have anything else they do with chickweed? I have a recipe for a chickweed salad dressing somewhere, but i can't lay my hands on it right now.

I am also planning to make a simple chickweed salve with some of it. Does anyone have tea blends using chickweed?

Torey

@Gail H Great topic as spring has arrived for some and on its way for others.

This is a chickweed recipe that I have used for pesto. Not sure where I originally got it.

Chickweed Pesto Recipe

·        2 cloves garlic

·        3/4 cup pine nuts (or walnuts)

·        2 cups chickweed leaves

·        1 cup basil leaves

·        1/2 cup olive oil

·        1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

Pulse your garlic fine in a food processor.

Add nuts and blend til they're finely chopped.

Add remaining ingredients and process until smooth.

When desired consistency is reached, stir in a pinch of salt.

And a recipe that I haven't made but its in my box of "to do".

Stir-Fried Chickweed:

2 cups packed, coarsely chopped, Chickweed

1 small onion, chopped very fine

Butter & Olive Oil

Salt & Pepper

Sauté onion in a small amount of butter & olive oil till soft and transparent. Stir in Chickweed and sauté for 1 minute. Add salt & pepper to taste. Drizzle with Balsamic Glaze if desired.

Also add Chickweed to: Smoothies, Sandwiches and Wraps, Salads, Omlettes and Quiches, Soufflés, Lasagna filling or add at the very last minute to soups.

I have never dried chickweed so I can't speak to the use of it in teas but I have heard of others doing this.

This is a link to Rosalee de la Foret's page on Chickweed for all its medicinal uses. https://www.herbalremediesadvice.org/chickweed-herb-uses.html

I have been making chickweed salve for many years and it has so many uses. Great for cooling hot, inflamed tissues.

LaurieLovesLearning

I am looking forward to you sharing your recipes...hint, hint!

I recently heard of a grilled cheese chickweed sandwich. I would do that!

I currently have an oil that I need to make into salve that has chickweed & plantain. It works well as is or mixed with comfrey-horsetail oil for acne or small cuts.

I have SO MUCH chickweed in our pasture, laying in wait under the snow! I want to fence a bit off so that the cows leave some for me this next year!

I will eagerly follow this thread!

bcabrobin

I made tea last summer, chickweed, violet, dandilion.

Put some in oil to make salve

Some in vineger

Got most of my recipes from https://learningherbs.com/remedies-recipes/chickweed-recipes/

Look up foraging sites to get more good recipes

Good luck have fun, you can use chickweed in most recipes you use greens in. Has a different taste so don't use just it in salid.

judsoncarroll4

Make pizza dough (real, from scratch). Shape a pizza from some of your dough, drizzle a little olive oil on top and some crushed, finely chopped garlic, pile on the chickweed... really, pile it on, salt and pepper, a little more oil, cheese and sliced tomatoes on top. Cook hot and fast until the cheese is brown.

LaurieLovesLearning

https://community.thegrownetwork.com/discussion/comment/853813#Comment_853813

As far as on pizza, I think that it could also be added after cooking. Drizzle the olive oil over it at that point. You would retain more goodness in both things.

At a local (my favorite) pizza joint, they ask if you want arugula & olive oil drizzle on when it's done. That seems to be popular recently in artisan pizza places.

judsoncarroll4

https://community.thegrownetwork.com/discussion/comment/853814#Comment_853814

I like that idea...

seeker.nancy - Central Texas

I've not eaten chickweed before but I do have some growing (native, volunteer). Do you strip the leaves off the stems or eat it all? Does maturity of the plant make a difference as to when you harvest? Thank you'all!

Torey

@seeker.nancy You can eat chickweed anytime but as it ages it gets a bit leggy and stringy. You can eat the whole plant; you don't have to just strip the leaves. If you are putting it in a blender or food processor for anything, you should chop it a bit first so it doesn't tangle on the blades. For medicinal use it is best to use earlier growth than later. One of the benefits of chickweed is that it is an appetite suppressant so when you have it in a salad before dinner, you might have less of an appetite for dinner. High in chlorophyll and vitamins.

Scott Sexton

Ooh yeah! Chickweed! Tea with milk and honey, or with a splash of juice. Pizza topping. Toss it in stew. Garnish baked potatoes with them (chopped fine). Chop fine and add to an omelet. Or just eat them out of hand. It's a welcome addition in green drinks too - just chop it up first to make sure the inner core doesn't get wound up in your blender. Powder it and add it to bread - not the most exciting thing, but it's an option. Put it in your drink as a garnish...then eat it. Use it on sandwiches in place of lettuce. Slice apples, smear on peanut butter, and add small pieces of chickweed. Great for the kids - just don't get the older, stringy pieces. ...or do. Some kids don't mind.

Chickweed is just such a good plant! But now......

Here's my favorite (and the least healthy). Batter it and fry it up like a funnel cake. AMAZING! (...of course everything is amazing when you fry it.) Eat them while they are still hot. Dust with powdered sugar. Or try salt and pepper! Or dip in honey mustard. Depends on your tastes.

It your chickweed gets stringy you can either chop it up really fine, or only harvest the last 1 or 2 inches of the growing tips. Scissors are helpful here.

@seeker.nancy Torey was spot on with her tips. I'll add that it is also a gentle cooling plant. We have a little girl that is prone to high fevers. We give her a chickweed infusion (tea) to rehydrate her and safely take the edge off the fever. She calls it her star flower tea.

LaurieLovesLearning

I am so very much looking forward to harvesting this! My mouth is watering...and I still have a couple months before I might he able to pick any. 😖 Waiting can be hard.

Gail H

Answering my own question here. 😁 I finally remembered where the chickweed salad dressing recipe is. It's from "Backyard Pharmacy" by Rachel Weaver.

Chickweed Salad Dressing

Blend together in blender:

1 large handful of chickweed (a really greedy handful)

2 cloves garlic

1 cup cold pressed oil of choice

juice of one lemon

dulse, cayenne, salt, etc. as desired

As to my chickweed "salve" , it couldn't be much easier. I let some chickweed wilt a bit so that it doesn't have too much moisture (maybe for a day or so), then chop it up and cover it with melted coconut oil. I let it sit in an amber glass jar in a sunny window for about a week then strain it. It's good for diaper rash or chapped hands.