Garlic Mustard Recipes

About

Garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata) is well-liked by plenty of foragers, but is a hard sell for people that don't like bitter greens. It's an invasive plant you can harvest as much of as you like.

Favorites

Garlic Mustard Ricotta | Garlic Mustard Shoots with Ramp Butter
Wild Greens with Garlic and Chili | Erbazzone (Italian Wild Greens Pie)  Prebboggion: The Wild Edible Plants of Liguria

Edible Parts

Leaves

Harvest the leaves before the plant makes flowers or they'll be tough.

Sprouts

The early growth from the previous year's seed can be used as a sprout.

Shoots

The shoots are the mildest part of the plant and my personal favorite.

Flowers and Tips

The young growing tips and buds make a good substitute for broccoli raab.

Roots

The roots can be washed and grated like horseradish, although it's not as good.

Working with bitter greens

To get around the bitterness, I often cook it in a blend of greens to calm it's flavor down, use it in a spicy dish like curry or saag, or mix it with something rich like my ricotta recipe.

Proper Removal

Garlic mustard poses a serious danger to native plants in North America. I often see a few handfuls of cut leaves shared by people who think they're doing a good thing by eating a little. It's a nice idea, but cutting the plant above the ground does nothing to stop its spread.

To remove the plant from an area, it must be uprooted before the flowers show. Most people I know put it in garbage bags and let it die in the sun before disposing of it.