Lamb's lettuce

Valeriana eriocarpa, V. locusta

leaf

Small rosettes of tender, mild leaves, a winter salad of which the Nantes region is Europe's leading producer; La Quintinie, Louis XIV's gardener, brought it into the kitchen garden. It provides lutein, folate and vitamin K1.

Origin

Europe (weed of the vineyards)

Season (United States)

October to March · grows in your region

Preparation

Eaten raw, in salads: the earthy base of each rosette is trimmed, then it is washed in several changes of water, as sand hides in it. It grows at ground level and catches the splashes of watering: washing it leaf by leaf, in plenty of water, beats a quick rinse of the whole bunch.

Molecules

Lutein and zeaxanthin · Vegetable nitrates · Folates (B9) · Vitamin K1 · ChlorophyllIn small amounts, not counted Plant omega-3 (ALA)

Did you know?

It has a thousand names: corn salad, lamb's lettuce, and in French doucette, rampon, or “fat hen”, because farmyard poultry loved it.