The flowers, so bright and cheerful, raise your vibe without even trying. Edible flowers bring that energy to the center of your being, especially when they also have medicinal properties like the beautiful nasturtium. Its flowers are bright trumpets that herald sunny days. As children, we used to pick nasturtium flowers, bite the tip at the back of the flower, and suck on the nectar, the mere fairy-sized sip of sweetness.
Plants grow easily and prolifically from seed, popping out of pots with abandon, blooming in all shades of fiery colors from vermilion to ochre. All they need is moisture and not too rich soil and you are guaranteed a harvest. Anyone with an herb garden can find a space for a few seeds, though if space is limited, confine them to a container or they’ll happily fall all over your other herbs.
Nasturtium flowers strike cheerful poses as a luncheon centerpiece, especially if you’ve planted a mix of colors, ranging from gold to deep red to bright orange. Layer them with a few sprigs of other herbs like rosemary and fennel to add some texture, lavender blossoms for contrast, and you have an edible, scented bouquet, perfect to take as a gift when you visit friends.
Nasturtium’s best kept secret, however, is that both the leaves and flowers are edible. Its strong peppery flavor adds a touch of interest to salads and can be a real boon to a jaded palate when stores only carry mild varieties of lettuce. Some of the round green nasturtium leaves, resembling mouse or fairy umbrellas, will elevate a fluffy iceberg or buttery lettuce into the realms of designer kitchens, their bright blossoms scattering to delight the eye and bring an element of fun into your table.
Recipe for a Nasturtium Salad
1 lettuce – iceberg, butter or cos
small bouquet of nasturtiums – leaves and flowers
ripe red tomatoes
1 tablespoon capers
feta cheese
Decide the amounts to your liking. Nasturtium leaves are spicy and the more you put, the spicier the salad gets. Wash and dry the lettuce and cut it into pieces of the size you prefer. Rinse the nasturtium leaves and tear or chop into rough strips. If you are using small tomatoes, cut them in half, cut the larger ones into cubes. Top the feta cheese and sprinkle over the salad with the capers. Top with the whole flowers and maybe one or two whole leaves. This bright and spicy salad is perfect to accompany pizzas, cold meats or as a starter on its own.
The round leaves are a potent medicinal weapon against sore throats. At the first sign of a sore throat, chew one nasturtium leaf every two hours. This can sometimes eliminate a sore throat completely, other times it just prevents it from getting too bad. The leaves have natural antibacterial properties and are rich in vitamin C. They can also be made into a tea by steeping a few leaves in a cup of boiling water for five minutes and drinking plain or adding a teaspoon of honey. .
In ancient times, in its native Peru, nasturtium was used as a disinfectant for wounds and was taken to battlefields to be used as a poultice and disinfectant wash. Not bad for a pretty garden flower!
Copyright 2007 Kit Heathcock