Ground elder- gardeners frustration, foragers elation
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If I was the type of forager who occasionally enjoyed feeling a little bit smug I think I would google Ground elder and chuckle at the dozens of gardening
forums full of desperate pleas for a soloution to this invasive 'weed.'
My answer is eat it! After all it was originally grown as a green vegetable (probably another legacy of our Roman friends) and it is really very tasty with a strong fresh parsley flavour. What's more, being such an effective coloniser, it seems to sprout up all over the place. As well as your garden, churchyards are a good place to look and probably give rise to one of its colloquial names, Bishop's weed.
The picture on the right is a patch in the corner of our back garden- it's been out for about the last 6 weeks. I picked a big bowl of the stuff in 5 minutes, took it straight inside, cooked it with a potato and a stock cube and a short while later was tucking into a really fresh zingy soup. As with most of my soups, I usually cook the base ingredients first and then pop the greens in at the last minute, that way, more of the nutrients are preserved. It's also great as a tender salad green when young and goes great in a sarnie, see bottom pic.
Foraging considerations: The most important thing to say is, like Alexanders, which we looked at a recently, this is a member of the umbelliferae/ carrot family which contains some deadly plants- mainly Hemlock, Hemlock water dropwort and Fools parsley. I hesitated to write another carrot family post so soon after the last but its sheer 'under your nose' abundance, plus it's unfair persecution, persuaded me otherwise.
forums full of desperate pleas for a soloution to this invasive 'weed.' My answer is eat it! After all it was originally grown as a green vegetable (probably another legacy of our Roman friends) and it is really very tasty with a strong fresh parsley flavour. What's more, being such an effective coloniser, it seems to sprout up all over the place. As well as your garden, churchyards are a good place to look and probably give rise to one of its colloquial names, Bishop's weed.
The picture on the right is a patch in the corner of our back garden- it's been out for about the last 6 weeks. I picked a big bowl of the stuff in 5 minutes, took it straight inside, cooked it with a potato and a stock cube and a short while later was tucking into a really fresh zingy soup. As with most of my soups, I usually cook the base ingredients first and then pop the greens in at the last minute, that way, more of the nutrients are preserved. It's also great as a tender salad green when young and goes great in a sarnie, see bottom pic.
Foraging considerations: The most important thing to say is, like Alexanders, which we looked at a recently, this is a member of the umbelliferae/ carrot family which contains some deadly plants- mainly Hemlock, Hemlock water dropwort and Fools parsley. I hesitated to write another carrot family post so soon after the last but its sheer 'under your nose' abundance, plus it's unfair persecution, persuaded me otherwise.
With care and a little bit of studying you should be able to recognise this plant easily enough. Key points to look out for include shallow serated leaves that are in groups of 3 with a point at the end, a grooved stem and an early spring appearance. It also has a distintly parsley smell when crushed- although don't rely purely on this. Despite the name it is not related to the elder tree although the leaves have a similar shape.
Ideally, pick this in the next few weeks as its flavour becomes course as it matures. It responds well to the 'cut and come again' approach so with a bit of forethought you can get a few harvests before the autumn. The roots will stay in the ground over winter before vigorously popping up again next spring- to the forager's delight (and slight smugness).
Ideally, pick this in the next few weeks as its flavour becomes course as it matures. It responds well to the 'cut and come again' approach so
with a bit of forethought you can get a few harvests before the autumn. The roots will stay in the ground over winter before vigorously popping up again next spring- to the forager's delight (and slight smugness).