Ground elder is one of the first things that pop up in my garden each year. It’s considered a weed by most but in our family it’s a treassured veggie that finds it way into our meals all year round. A favourite recipe is sautéed ground elder with garlic. It’s great as a side dish, on top of bread or in other recipes such as ground elder quesadillas or filled chicken filets. And since ground elder tends to grow in enourmous amounts just about anywhere, you can make a lot of it almost for free.
The history of ground elder
Ground elder (aegopodium podagraria), or Bishop’s weed, is a herbaceous prennial that grows fast and covers large areas quickly. Where I live, in Sweden, a popular tale is that monks brought it here during the middle ages and it quickly spread. But it’s actually been around since 500B.C. and was an imporant food staple for the Vikings. Containing 39% protein and being one of the earliest crops it was vital for survival, especially in springtimes following years with bad harvests. During the middle age it became a popular plant at castles and manor estates. It escaped the potagers and can now be found all over the country, except from the mountain regions. The Romans also loved the plant and spread it all over Europe, and the Europeans in turn spread it all over the world.
Eating ground elder
If you have ground elder in your garden chances are high that you’ve spend a lot of time trying to get rid of it, without success. My experience says it’s almost impossible and since it can be used just as spinach (but with a much longer growing season) I’ve adopted a different approach to keeping my ground elder where I want it. It’s as simple as if you can’t beat it, eat it! Ground elder really is delicious when you learn how to cook with it. We use it as we would with spinach: raw, fried, blanched and baked.
Sautéed ground elder with garlic
One of my favourite recipes is sautéed ground elder with garlic. It’s quick, it’s buttery, it’s salty and it has garlic. All great puzzle pieces when it comes to ensure that a dish is perfect. We either eat it as a side dish or use in as an ingredient in other dishes, like ground elder enchiladas or stuffed in chicken or salmon. It is also great served on top of a slice of sourdough rye bread.
Sautéed ground elder with garlic
Course: Sides2
servings5
minutes10
minutes15
minutesSautéed ground elder is the perfect side to almost any dish. It can also be served on top of bread or used in other dishes, such as filled chicken filets.
Ingredients
1 litre fresh ground elder
50 grams of butter
2 garlic cloves
1 teaspoon of salt
Directions
- Rinse the ground elder and remove the stems.
- Heat a frying pan to medium and add the butter.
- While the butter melts, peel and mince the garlic.
- Add the garlic to the pan and let it cook for a few minutes.
- Add the salt and the ground elder to the pan, stirring until the ground elder has wilted.
- Serve warm with extra sea salt on the side.
