I admit, I’m a little obsessed with lamb’s quarters these days. It’s hard not to be. They’re so abundant and tasty. It’s easy to harvest enough for 10 – 12 meals in less than an hour, then blanch and freeze the leaves to use as wild spinach all year long. After processing my last batch, I was ready to throw away the stems, when I remembered reading that the tender ends of the stems could be steamed or boiled like asparagus. Since I already had them in the kitchen, I figured I’d give it a try. Lamb’s quarters stems are a whole ‘nother vegetable!
You’ll hear lots of foragers talk about using tender shoots (stems) as they would asparagus, but that doesn’t mean the plants taste like asparagus. It simply means they can be treated/prepared the same way asparagus might be prepared. The stems of lamb’s quarters stems are slightly more fibrous than asparagus, and boiling produces a more tender vegetable than steaming. Younger stems harvested in early summer might be fine steamed or microwaved, but by the end of July, you’ll probably want to boil them.
I like to experience the pure taste of a foraged food the first time I make it, rather than load it up with hollandaise or ponzu sauce. Frankly, I think both of these would be delicious with lamb’s quarters stems.
Use only the flexible ends of the stems. In mid to late summer this will give you pieces about eight inches long and between 1/4 – 1/2 inch thick. You can feel the right place to cut the stem by flexing it back and forth. If the stem doesn’t bend easily where you are trying to flex it, it’s too tough and you need to move up the stem.
What You’ll Need to Make Lamb’s Quarters Stems
- 20 tender, 8 inch pieces of lamb’s quarters stems, stripped of their leaves
- water
- salt & pepper
- sesame oil
- lemon slices
What You’ll Do to Make Lamb’s Quarters Stems
Boil a few inches of water in a pan large enough to hold the uncut lengths of stem. (I use a sauté pan.) Add the stems to the boiling water and boil for six minutes. Test for doneness and if the stems aren’t entirely tender, boil for a few minutes more.
Strain the stems and return them to the warm pan. Add salt and pepper to taste; start with 1/8 teaspoon pepper and 1/4 teaspoon salt and adjust as needed. Sprinkle with a teaspoon of sesame oil and toss the stems in the pan to distribute the seasoning and oil.
Remove the lamb’s quarter stems to a cutting board and line them up, then cut into bite size pieces. Serve them with a few slices of lemon for a dead simple and surprisingly delicious side dish.
Sounds interesting I’ll have to give it a try the next time I harvest lamb’s quarter for the leaves.
Regards
Bill
My mother used to fix a lambsquarter sweet and sour gravy. Has anyone heard of this?
I haven’t. What is it? A sauce with chopped up lambsquarters in it?
I had a wonderful crop of lambs quarters show up in my garden this year. First time I’ve seen them since we moved here 5 years ago and I was overjoyed. Harvest a major handful to come straight in rinse them off shook the water off and cut them up right into the pan with a little bit of butter. Stems and all. The stems give them a nice little bit of chew crunch to them. Oh man they are so delicious just simply sauteed and butter both a little salt and I sprinkled smoked paprika over the top and my taste buds were just in heaven. I’m going to try my very best to keep them harvested as long as possible and then finally one day I will let them go to seed all over my garden and they can just have at it. As a matter of fact I even transplanted some of them up into a bed where they will become permanently part of the garden every year right next to the chickweed. Simply Divine freely given food
Good for you, Normajean! I often take the seed of edible volunteers and scatter them around my garden: Queen Ann’s lace, evening primrose, curly dock. It’s a great way to increase your harvest.