The most delicious part of the garlic mustard plant is the young stem. Sweet, succulent, and garlicy, it reminds me of a cross between a garlic scape and a snap pea. These can be steamed or sauted and drizzled with olive oil or butter. However, my favorite way to eat them is raw! Just chop them up and add to soups, salads, tacos, stir fries, and other dishes. It’s easy and delicious!
The leaves and flower buds are more bitter in flavor than the stem. The leaves taste like a cross of bitter mustard greens and garlic. The flower buds have a spicy horseradish-like flavor. Though the bitterness puts some people off, I think the flavor goes well in many dishes. Garlic mustard pesto is a classic. You can just take your favorite traditional pesto recipe and replace the basil with garlic mustard leaves and flower buds. (Or if the flower buds are too spicy for you, simply omit them.)
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Personally, I love garlic mustard hummus. My method of making hummus is to blend a couple cups of cooked chickpeas together with some tahini, lemon juice, and olive oil in my food processor. Then I taste it, decide if I want a stronger tahini or lemon flavor, and adjust accordingly. If it’s too thick, I add more olive oil. When it’s about right, I add salt, chopped garlic, and spices until it’s close to the flavor I want. Then, with the processor running, I add as many garlic mustard leaves and flower buds as it can hold, which is a surprisingly large amount! I periodically stop the motor to scrape the sides and taste a bit. When it’s a good color, flavor, and consistency, it’s done! This hummus has a wonderful kick that goes especially well on sandwiches and with chips or crackers. If you’re looking for something less fiery, simply omit the flower buds.
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For people who don’t approve of my imprecise methods, here is a hummus recipe from The Three Foragers. It calls for ramps, but that can be substituted with two cloves garlic.
Final Thoughts
So what to make of garlic mustard? Healthful herb or noxious weed? I’d say it’s both. As someone who has spent countless hours pulling this plant up by the roots in an effort to protect delicate forest ecosystems, I know from experience the extent to which garlic mustard can displace native wildflowers. However, as someone who has spent several years eating it, I also know how delicious it can be, and look forward to cooking with it every spring. I’m curious if we can combine the weed management aspect with the culinary aspect in an effective way. I have personally held workshops where we pulled large quantities of the plant for management purposes and used a portion of it for cooking; and I have seen similar programs promoted by parks, nature centers, and environmental organizations across the country. (If you’re interested in controlling the spread of garlic mustard, please contact your local nature center so they can teach you the proper techniques.) I hope to see a day where garlic mustard is no longer a threat to our native woodlands due to large numbers of people pulling and eating it. Until then, I’ll do my part!
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