I spent a morning nibbling on freshly cut Italian rocket and ruby chard at the
Chelsea Flower Show this week and felt transported to the vegetable garden I
wish I had room and time for. The leaves are from a new range of salads that
can be grown in pots, created by Jekka McVicar, herb farmer extraordinaire
and ten times Chelsea gold winner.
Nothing beats the fresh, peppery taste of leaves, herbs and produce from your
own pots, and the sensational smells that rub off on to your fingers as you
pick the leaves and throw them into a colander to wash.
And you don’t need an enormous garden, just a windowsill or an outside step
where you can grow vegetables in little pots and grow-bags. From a
nutritional perspective, if you grow them in healthy soil and pick them at
their prime, you’re giving your body a hit of supernutrients that can do
wonders for your skin, gut and immune system. This is because the vitamin C
content is at its highest when the leaves are on the plant. It deteriorates
as soon as they have been picked, and continues to do so during storage —
and you never know how long veg from the supermarket has been in storage. So
to get the top nutrition from your salad leaves, pick and eat immediately.
With McVicar’s help I’ve come up with a super salad of rocket, chard, parsley,
tomatoes, mint, thyme, basil, chives and avocado (which is a bit of a cheat
as you can’t grow it, but buy it from the supermarket and let it ripen on
your windowsill with the pots until it is soft and has its optimum amount of
nutrients).
If you plant the seeds of your herbs and leaves now, you’ll have a crop of
salad in roughly four weeks and this four-week growth cycle will continue
throughout the summer. Buy a tomato plant from your local greengrocer now
and it, too, should bear fruit throughout the summer. In a month you’ll be
able to tuck into the deliciously fresh, intense nutrient hit and taste.
Cut the rocket, chard, basil, parsley and mint just after a growth point about
3cm up from the soil. Snip chives 2cm-3cm from the soil and cut thyme just
after a leaf. This should help the plants to generate regrowth. Use a
seaweed feed to give them a helping hand.
The success of a salad lies in using plenty of fresh herbs. You’ll find the
mint, basil, parsley and chives work well with a few thyme leaves to add a
punch; while ruby chard and tomatoes give an enticing dash of colour.
To serve 4: a handful each of basil, mint (spearmint, Mentha spicata,
is best for salad), curly-leaved parsley, chives; 3 handfuls each of Italian
rocket and ruby chard; 4 to 6 home-grown dwarf tomatoes (or as many as are
ripe); 1 avocado (ripened on your windowsill); a big dash of virgin olive
oil; a sprig of thyme. Lightly wash the herbs and leaves in cold water and
pat dry on kitchen paper, or use a salad spinner. Tear the basil, finely
chop the mint, parsley and chives and place in your salad bowl. Throw in the
rocket, chard, tomatoes (cut into quarters), and avocado (peeled, stoned and
sliced). Drizzle with enough olive oil to lightly coat the leaves, scatter
with the thyme leaves and toss well.
The reason I’ve picked these ingredients is that they all have great nutrient
values.
TOMATOES are rich in lycopene, the antioxidant phytochemical
which is important in helping to prevent heart disease and certain cancers,
such as cancer of the prostate. Cooked tomatoes are a potent source of
lycopene, so tomato purées, pastes and juices are rich in this antioxidant.
These delicious fruits also contain the antioxidants beta-carotene, vitamin
C and vitamin E.
Beta-carotene, like vitamin E, also helps to reduce our risk of cancers and
heart disease. Vitamin C is good for helping to maintain a healthy immune
system, and for building strong bones and teeth. Tomatoes are also high in
potassium, the mineral that helps to keep blood pressure down and alleviate
fluid retention, so they’re great summer fruits if you find that your body
tends to swell up from the heat.
PARSLEY is rich in iron and carotenoids, antioxidants that
help to fight heart disease and are amazingly high in vitamin C. According
to McVicar, if you are a bit run-down and don’t feeling like eating much,
chewing on parsley stimulates your gastric juices and can pep up your
appetite. Medicinal herbalists believe it stimulates the liver and acts as a
diuretic, so it could also help to reduce fluid retention; it freshens your
breath, which garlic fiends use to their advantage; and it can relieve
rheumatoid arthritis and gout.
MINT contains menthol, which is widely used as a remedy for
indigestion. I swear by mint tea made from fresh mint leaves if my gut is
feeling a little acidic or nauseous, and steaming mint tea can also help to
clear a blocked nose and chest cold. Mint freshens the breath and can also
stimulate a jaded appetite. According to McVicar, a bunch of freshly picked
mint, tied with string and hung under the hot-water tap when you run a bath,
will not only scent the water but also the whole house. Like the other fresh
herbs, mint contains iron, potassium, vitamin C and carotenoids such as
beta-carotene.
THYME As well as giving my salad dressing a little hit, thyme
is thought to have a powerful antiseptic action. Drinking an infusion of the
fresh herb in boiling water helps bronchitis and respiratory infections. And
it’s also rich in antioxidants.
BASIL Historically, basil has been prescribed as a sedative
for gastric spasms, as a laxative and an expectorant, although it is rarely
used in herbal medicines today. Like all fresh herbs, it is rich in iron and
vitamin C. A few leaves in a salad can make it easier to digest. I keep a
pot of basil in my kitchen because it also acts as a fly repellent.
CHIVES Chives belong to the same family as garlic and onions,
with similar, though less potent, allium compounds. If you eat enough of
them, they can help lower blood cholesterol, and in salads they can add a
dose of vitamin C and iron.
ROCKET AND RUBY CHARD They are both rich in vitamin C, iron,
beta-carotene and potassium. The vitamin C means the iron is easily
accessible to the body. They also contain a little fibre, which helps keep
our gut moving.
AVOCADO Ripen them on your windowsill and get the full quota
of vitamin E. We need plenty of this to help prevent the build-up of fatty
deposits in our arteries, thus helping to protect against heart disease.
Vitamin E has also been shown to increase the body’s immune response and may
protect against cancer, as well as maintaining healthy skin. Some people
worry about their calorie content, but they contain only about 170 calories
per half avocado, and if you use one in a salad it makes it creamy so you
can use less oil. The fat in avocados is monounsaturated fat, which is also
good for our hearts.
For more information on Jekka McVicar’s herb farm visit,
www.jekkasherbfarm.com, 01454 418878 Jane Clarke answers your questions in
T2 on Tuesdays, e-mail Jane.Clarke@thetimes.co.uk; and visit
www.janeclarke.com. She cannot enter into personal correspondence
