Category — Chickweed

Only the young tender stems and leaves should be picked since the greens are at their best during this stage. Chickweed can be eaten raw in salads and sandwiches. Chopped it can be added to chicken and egg salads. A pinch of chickweed on a cold soup or salmon mousse makes an attractive garnish. First steamed it can also be used as a filling for omelettes or a stuffing for fish or fowl.

Chickweed Pesto

1 cup fresh chickweed
1 cup fresh basil
2 cloves garlic
½ cup olive oil
optional:
100g hard cheese
100g pine nuts

Put all the ingredients into your blender or food processor add more oil if necessary.

Mild Curried Chickweed

45ml olive oil
10ml mustard seed
4 cups chickweed
15ml tamari
5ml cumin seeds
5ml turmeric
15ml lemon juice

Heat the oil in a cast iron pan. Add seeds, stir and cook for two minutes. Stir in the turmeric
and cook another minute. Turn off the heat. Add chopped chickweed, lemon juice and tamari.
Stir well and serve immediately. Great with Basmati rice and yoghurt soup on a warm spring
evening.

Chickweed Salad

4 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
4 teaspoons walnut oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper
6 cups chickweed leaves and tender stems (about 6 ounces)

Pour the lemon juice into a large bowl. Gradually whisk in the oil. Season with salt and pepper. Add the chickweed, toss until evenly dressed and serve at once.

Chickweed Egg Salad

4 hard-boiled eggs
2/3 cup Chickweed greens, chopped
1 tsp horseradish
1 Tbsp fresh chives
½ cup mayonnaise

Chop eggs coarsely. Add Chickweed greens, chives, and horseradish. Mix gently. Add mayonnaise and mix just enough to coat ingredients.

The plant is weak and straggly and yet it has a number of medicinal properties. Made into a poultice it was one used to help heal wounds, skin irritations and inflammation. The Latin name fot the plant, Stellaria, means “little star” while media refers to “middle”, there being other chickweeds and related species. Chickweed belongs to Caryophyllaceae family and is an annual plant. Often refferred as Common Chickweeds, Star Chickweed, Mouse-ear Chickweed.

Chickweed is an excellent source of vitamins A, D, B complex, C and iron, calcium, potassium, phosphorus, zinc, manganese, sodium, copper, and silica.

Chickweed comes in capsule, liquid extract, tincture, tea, ointment, oils and dried herb forms. In alternative medicine, it’s used primarily as a topical cream or ointment. Different products are available in pharmacies and online stores.

Chop chickweed and add them, raw, to salads, or cook them like spinach. Mouse-ear chickweed is hairy, so you have to cook it. Cooked, chickweed tastes like spinach. Include any of the species in soups and stews, but cook no more than 5 minutes to prevent overcooking. Unlike most other edibles, he stems, as well as the leaves and flowers, taste good.

Chickweed herb medicinal uses: Applied externally, finely chopped chickweed soothes irritated skin, especially when mixed with marsh mallow (Althaea officinale) root. It is good for cuts, minor burns, eczema, and rashes. Bandage it on the affected area by itself or mixed with clay, which adds a drying and drawing effect. Change the dressing often.

To make chickweed tea, pour 1 cup of boiling water over chickweed. Cover and let steep, off the heat, for 15 to 20 minutes. Strain out the herb and drink the tea hot. Drinking a quart of chickweed tea daily is fine, but even two cups a day can help shed unwanted stored fat.

A mild diuretic, promoting the flow of urine, this beverage is also supposed to cleanse and soothe the kidneys and urinary tract and help relieve cystitis. Unlike the more powerful pharmaceutical diuretics, it won’t deplete the body of minerals. It is also reputedly good for rheumatism.

Chickweed in tea form is also excellent for use as an acne wash, and it can even be added to a bath to help with sores, rashes, boils and burns.

Chickweed should not be used internally by pregnant or nursing women.