This year my little garden at home has been taken over by Tropaeolum, commonly known as nasturtium, indian cress or monks cress. Last year I couldn’t really get it to grow very well, so this year I planted three plants, because I really wanted to try and make pesto from it. But honestly one plant would have been enough, let me just say they have been growing like crazy this year 😀 And they are taking over almost everything else in my big planter outside.
The nasturtium tastes and smells a bit like watercress, also called nasturtium officinale. You see how it got it’s name 😉 It get these beautiful flowers in colors ranging from yellow to deep red…. last year I only had yellow flowering plants, this year I have deep reds and a more pink orange colored one. I also planted a couple of plants in my big allotment garden, all of which has these deep orange colored flowers….. why am I going on and on about the color of these flowers??? I have no idea – I guess I’m just so mesmerized by them.
Nasturtiums are also great companion plants, attracting beneficial insects and acts like a trap for black flies. The black flies are attracted to the nasturtium self, while kept away from other vegetable plants.
The plant is anti-bacterial, anti-inflammatory, and is really high in vitamine C (natural antihistamine). It does however also show hypotensive effects, so if you suffer from too low blood pressure, go easy on the nasturtiums. If on the other hand high blood pressure is an issue for you go a head and indulge with this Anti-Inflammatory Nasturtium Pesto 😀
It has been a while since I posted a recipe here on the blog, and honestly there has been a ton of reasons why it has been so long. Happily non histamine related. Basically life has been super busy between my job, the kids and the garden (love the fact that it is gardening season now). On top of that my body had to learn to adapt to having a desk job, and thus sitting for significantly longer time periods. Which first meant that my old enemy RSI showed it’s ugly head…. but after about a month of pain in my neck and arm I got that under controle, only for it to be replaced by an in-explainable pain in my tail bone. That seems to be going the right direction now though, so that is great. All in all this has meant that the last many many weeks I haven’t really been able to sit down at my computer and write…… hence my absence.
This Anti-Inflammatory Nasturtium Pesto is originally inspired by a recipe from The River Cottage, but I of course changed it a bit to be more histamine friendly. The pesto is pretty straight forward, just gather the leaves of the nasturtium, be aware of any black flies that might gather underneath the leaves. Place the leaves in a container fit for a hand held blender, or place it in a strong blender together with the basil, apple, macadamia nuts and the spring onion. Add the (extra virgin) olive oil, and blend till it is smooth and beautifully green.
You can adjust the thickness by added more or less olive oil. This Anti-Inflammatory Nasturtium Pesto can be used as a spread, dip, salad dressing or on top of some yummy pasta 🙂 Enjoy
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A beautifully green Anti-Inflammatory Nasturtium Pesto. A great way to use those peppery wonderful green leaves of the tropaeolum plant, commonly known as nasturtium or Indian cress.
Ingredients
- 30 g of nasturtium leaves (1.06 oz)
- 5 g of basil (0.18 oz)
- 20 g macadamia nuts (0.71 oz)
- 1/4 apple (1-1.25 oz)
- 1 small spring onion
- 50–60 ml (extra virgin) olive oil (1/4 cup)
Instructions
- Gather the leaves of the nasturtium, be aware of any black flies that might gather underneath the leaves.
- Place the leaves in a container fit for a hand held blender, or place it in a strong blender together with the basil, apple, macadamia nuts and the spring onion. Add the (extra virgin) olive oil, and blend till it is smooth and beautifully green.
- You can adjust the thickness by added more or less olive oil.
Notes
- This Anti-Inflammatory Nasturtium Pesto can be used as a spread, dip, salad dressing or on top of some yummy pasta –Â Enjoy
- If you don’t have nasturtium growing in your garden like me, and otherwise can’t get a hold of it, you can use water cress instead. Note the nutritional facts are calculated based on water cress and not nasturtiums.
SAVE THIS ANTI-INFLAMMATORY NASTURTIUM PESTO RECIPE FOR LATER. PIN IT:
References
- Dr Duke’s list of Chemicals and their Biological Activities in: Tropaeolum majus L. (Tropaeolaceae) — Nasturtium
- Anti-Hypertensive Herbs and Their Mechanisms of Action: Part II
- Healthyliving Herbs – Nastrium
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looks great, i no longer have a garden Is it the Nasturtium (mmm spicy) it’s self that is anti-inflammatory has i need this. I would check companion gardening as goes the black fly i remember this problem. at mo i am dairy, egg, & gluten/grain free.
Hi Gary,
yes the Nasturtium is anti-infkammatory. If you can’t get your hands on it you can replace it with water cress. Same peppery taste, and water cress is also anti-inflammatory and an antihistamine
Tania