Anna’s Wild Weed Spread

This vegan and gluten free spread from the amazing Anna Valentine from the Veggie Tree is jut so good. It’s made with edible weeds that are packed full of nutrients, flavour and medicinal qualities and can be smothered on just about anything… crackers, sandwiches, burgers – whatever takes your fancy!

If you can’t find chickweed, oxalis or onion weed you can easily substitute with edible weeds you do have easy access to such as dandelion, puha, nasturtium or cress. There’s also the option of adding in regular greens like spinach or kale if this is what’s on hand in your garden.

From Anna …

This Wild Edible Weeds Spread recipe with chickweed, oxalis and onion weed is the absolute best!

A thick and creamy spread that is perfect smothered on toast, crackers, in a sandwich or burger, its packed with nutrients, flavour, medicinal qualities, can be made fully plant based or not if preferred, whats not to like!

An abundance of chickweed has entered my wild garden to my absolute glee, with its scrambling stems, cute little pointed leaves and tiny white flowers, it has a grassy mild flavour and grows all year around in New Zealand as long as it has a little sun and a dampish spot. I’ve paired it with the equally abundant oxalis for it sour notes and my favourite onion weed for its sweet chive like flavour.

Chickweeds pinnate leaves have a tender mild grassy lettuce flavour and can be eaten raw with the stem chopped up a little and added to salads and sandwiches, incorporated into a filling or an omelette, pie or in dressings, smoothies, pesto, as a garnish or in this delicious spread! To be sure you have the right plant check for the inner ’string’. The leaves are a powerhouse of nutrients as are the seeds, if you were dedicated enough to gather them.

With anti-inflammatory, antiseptic and anti-fungal properties, chickweed helps to relieve inflammation in the nose, sinuses and respiratory tract. It acts as a demulcent and expectorant, helping too clear mucous and ease congestion in the lungs. It is also beneficial for hormonal imbalances and rheumatic complaints This versatile herb also supports healthy thyroid function, it is also known to support the liver. The saponins present in chickweed increase the absorption of nutrients whilst soothing the digestive tract, have been found to emulsify fat cells and flush them from the body, and balance bacteria in the gut.

Oxalis is a wonderfully invasive sour tasting ‘weed’, it has four little green heart shaped leaves, a cluster of yellow or purple flowers, enjoys sprawling over any bare ground, has many stems on each plant making it very easy to remove. The leaves contain oxalic acid which is a naturally occurring compound in many fruits, vegetables, nuts, and whole grains. While small amounts of oxalic acid are not harmful for most folks, this compound can inhibit the absorption of other important nutrients, so as long as you don’t overdo it, or cook it before consuming which removes oxalates. I love to use it as a cute little garnish, salad green or soup ingredient is known as wild sorrel, is used in many Eastern European cuisines.

It’s rich in Vitamin C and A, it soothes the stomach and helps to reduce a fever, urinary tract infections, sore throats, nausea, and mouth sores, with diuretic properties so good for IBS, constipation and haemorrhoids as it improves the digestion as it releases gas that may have accumulated in the gut area.

Anna’s Wild Weed Spread

Vegan | Gluten Free | Makes 600g

I’ve used chickweed, onion weed and oxalis in this version but any number of edible weeds can be utilised in this recipe to suit your tastes and availability including dandelion, puha, nasturtium, fat hen, nipplewort, cress, you could also include regular greens, like rocket, spinach, kale and the like.

It is a pretty stiff mixture to give it the cream cheese like consistency, so I utilise my stick blender and jug, you may need to add a little water to help if using a blender or nutri-bullet.

Ingredients:

2 cups raw cashews

500ml hot water

1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 clove garlic

zest and juice of 1 lemon

2 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

1/4 cup nutritional yeast, finely grated parmesan or cream cheese

2 1/2 cups wild edible weeds, roughly chopped and tightly packed

1 tablespoon chopped thyme, dill, coriander or parsley

1 tsp salt

½ tsp pepper

Method:

Gather your ingredients and soak cashews in hot water for 1 hour.

Discard the water and add the cashews along with olive oil, garlic, lemon, vinegar, nutritional yeast, edible weeds, herbs, salt and pepper to a jug or blender.

Blitz until super smooth and transfer into a lidded jar or serving dish, drizzle lightly with olive oil to prevent the top discolouring.

Keep covered in the fridge, it will last a good couple of weeks like this.

Check out Anna’s fantastic recipe books, delicious condiments and upcoming workshops here.