Rocket… yeah!
No this isn’t a Def Leppard song I’m talking about my newest batch of leafy vegetables called rocket or if you prefer Eruca sativa. Honestly though who is going to prefer that name!?
There was a time, especially here in Australia where a leafy green salad comprised mostly of lettuce, and boring old ice berg lettuce at that. Fortunately this is no longer the case as we now mix in various types of lettuce leaves, baby spinach and of course rocket.
It’s high in iron and vitamin C and has a strong flavour that borders on peppery. Apparently it was cultivated back in Roman times where it was considered an aphrodisiac which I imagine made nervous tigers quite happy to have an alternative to their… well I’m sure they were happy anyway.
You generally use it in salads but it can be added to pizzas, cooked with pasta and in pesto. There is an area in Slovenia where it is added to the cheese burek!
It is such an easy plant to grow and use too which makes it ideal for those of us with little or no room. Considering up until the 1990s it was almost completely harvested from the wild it is really easy to get (here in Australia at least).
To prove that it is indeed easy to grow I can let you know that the plants that you see in the photo were grown from seed in an old pot whose plants had died and I threw in a couple of other pots of empty soil and mixed it all up.
Essentially I threw in a handful of seeds, turned the soil lightly, chucked some fertiliser granules over the top and watered. A couple of weeks later the whole pot is covered in rocket. No fuss at all. It would be great for maybe a planter box on a window sill or maybe a larger pot on the deck or balcony where it can get some sun.
I think I might make a pesto out of it and my basil plant.
March 20th, 2008 at 9:02 am
Home made pesto, now there is an idea!
Dan’s last blog post..Bittersweet
March 21st, 2008 at 2:54 pm
Oh and it was awesome Dan - will post about it as we are having it again tonight!
April 25th, 2008 at 2:37 am
Cool informative blog
I wish I could grow sutff, but I have a black thumb (no really, I killed MINT!) But I just wanted to pop in & say hi!
BB
Dawtch
May 11th, 2008 at 7:05 pm
Cheers for dropping by Jodi, we’ll have to find something you can’t kill with a brick!
May 12th, 2008 at 2:52 am
Good luck with that
Although I will say, If I open a packet of “Wildflower Seeds,” careful not to come in contact with the seeds themselves, sprinkle them over the ground, then LEAVE THEM ALONE COMPLETELY, they will grow…*grin*
Some witch I am, huh?
BB
dawtch
Jodi’s last blog post..Fate’s Acquittal