Nasturtium Gems

(Page 3 of 5)

August/September 2007
By SUSAN BELSINGER 
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You can cut both the flowers and leaves into chiffonade (thin ribbons) to blend with butter, or toss them with egg salad, noodles, vegetables or fish. The unopened buds, marinated in wine or vinegar, make an unusual refrigerator pickle. Even the seeds can be harvested and used; when pickled, they make a suitable substitute for capers.

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Here are three of my favorite ways to use nasturtiums.

Nasturtiums Filled with Guacamole

Makes about 20 appetizers

Piquant nasturtium blossoms are a wonderful foil for guacamole, and the jicama provides a nice, crunchy base. If you don’t have jicama, Jerusalem artichokes or cucumber slices are a good substitute. This recipe is excerpted from my book Flowers in the Kitchen (Interweave Press, 1991).

  • 1 large avocado, preferably Hass
  • 2 teaspoons lime juice
  • 1 small tomato, finely chopped
  • 2 tablespoons finely minced onion
  • 1 jalapeño or serrano chile, seeded and finely minced
  • 1 small clove garlic, finely minced
  • Salt, to taste
  • About 20 nasturtium blossoms
  • 1 small jicama
  • Lime juice
  1. Peel avocado and remove pit. Mash avocado in a bowl with a fork and add lime juice. Blend in tomato, onion, chile and garlic. Add salt to taste. Let guacamole stand, covered, while preparing the nasturtiums and jicama.
  2. Rinse nasturtiums carefully and pat them dry. Peel jicama and slice it about 1/4-inch thick. Cut the slices into pieces about 2-by-2 inches in size. (They don’t have to be perfect squares—leave the rounded edges.) They should be just the right size to accommodate a nasturtium filled with guacamole. Squeeze a little lime juice over the jicama slices.
  3. At this point, the guacamole, jicama and nasturtiums can be kept for a few hours in the refrigerator, if necessary. To assemble the appetizers, hold nasturtiums at the base and use a teaspoon to fill them carefully with the guacamole. Set each filled nasturtium on a slice of jicama and arrange on a serving platter. The prepared appetizers can be kept very briefly in the refrigerator or served immediately.

Salsa Verde with Nasturtiums

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