I am convinced that farmers bring some things to market that were never meant to be a crop. I know for a fact that this has happened with purslane and seems to be the fact with lamb's quarters as well. "If you stand on a street corner waiting, perhaps, for a bus and you happen to notice something green flourishing in a crack in the sidewalk, between the lamppost and the cement, you'll most likely be looking at Lamb's-quarters."
I have tasted lamb's quarters at farmstands and deemed it delicious, but this week was the first time that I brought it home and made a commitment to cook with it. Tasting it raw, I felt as though I could munch my way through the bag without any further preparation. The leaf has some body to it which gives it a meaty or nutty depth. Lamb's quarters are most often compared with spinach -- and they have the added benefit of not having that weird tooth feeling that you sometimes get when you eat raw spinach. Nutritionally, it is closely related to beets, chard and spinach with 11,60 IU vitamin A and 80 milligrams vitamin C per 100-gram serving.
When young, you can eat all parts of the lamb's quarters. As they age, you probably want to trim the tough stems. Unlike many leafy greens, lamb's quarters' taste does not change with size.
When in doubt, use lamb's quarters in any way that you would use spinach - raw or cooked. Ideas in my books include:
* Boiled, steamed or braised with citrus or spice.
* Creamed Spring lamb's quarters.
* Carpaccio of Lamb with Lamb's quarters.
* Lamb's quarters soup. A pureed soup with chicken stock and celery root.
* Gazpacho of lamb's quarters with shrimp.
* Tacos de Quelite. (Rick Bayless)
* Slow-Cooked green tomato with pozole, peppers and lamb's quarters
* Lamb's quarters spread. A spread with garlic, onion, avocado, walnuts, olives, mustard leaves, miso, and chile pepper.
* Lasagna with lamb's quarters
* Lamb's quarters, cucumber, and tomato salad.
I chose to make a soup that was pureed, much like a spinach soup. I sauteed garlic, onion and a small amount of celery. To that I added chicken stock, salt and pepper, and quartered raw potatoes (with skin) along with the lamb's quarters. I allowed that all to cook for quite about 45 minutes and then pureed using an immersion blender. The soup was delicious. Next time I will strain with cheesecloth (didn't have any in the house).
My lamb's quarters greens were purchased from Heirloom Organics (Watsonville) at the San Francisco Ferry Plaza Farmer's Market.
References:
A City Herbal, Maida Silverman. Ash Tree Publishing, 1977.
The Wild Vegetarian, Steve Brill. The Harvard Common Press, 2002.
Vegetables from Amaranth to Zucchini. Elizabeth Schneider. Harper Collins, 2001.
