Are you looking for new flavors? New tastes? Those who have a garden in their garden would certainly like to grow new vegetables, vegetables from elsewhere or local vegetables still poorly known. Perfect to bring new flavors to your plate but also to participate in the biodiversity of gardens or simply to stir the curiosity of young and old and make you want to garden. We share some strange vegetables to grow in garden.
The strange vegetables to grow in garden
Chayote
Chayote is a perennial plant of the family Cucurbitaceae. It is grown in warm climates, possible in France, in the ground in the South. The plant needs rich soil and very regular water intake.
To eat in a gratin, mashed potatoes, risotto but also in ratatouille for the salty version or in jam for the sweet version.
Tomatillo
Tomatillo is a plant of the Solanaceae family. Its fruit looks like a small green tomato covered by a veil that tears when the fruit is ripe. Its taste is similar to that of green apple or lemon. An annual plant, it is planted in March / April in a pot or in the ground in a sheltered and warm place. The harvest is from mid-August until frost.
To eat raw in a salad or cooked in sauce for tacos, burritos …
Kiwano
Also called horned melon, kiwano is a species of tropical plant of the family Cucurbitaceae. Simple to obtain in its vegetable garden, it is grown as a cucumber or a melon. It resists the cold, enjoys exposure to the sun and limestone soil.
To consume raw as a cucumber in salads or dessert (fruit salad).
Oca from Peru
The oca of Peru is a herbaceous plant of the genus Oxalis of the family Oxalidaceae. He enjoys a rich land, the sun but prefers cool soil. The oca of Peru is harvested before the arrival of the cold.
To eat like the potato (mashed potatoes, fried, steamed …).
Salsify
Salsify is a herbaceous plant of the family Asteraceae and genus Tragopogon, grown for its rich root inulin. It is harvested from October to March. It is resistant to frost and likes in sandy, light, well-drained soil. To cultivate in the sun.
To be consumed raw with a vinaigrette or cooked (it goes very well with scallops).
Crosne
The crosne is a plant of the family Lamiaceae native to northwestern China and cultivated for its edible tubers. It is grown in light soil, it enjoys exposure to the sun. The crosne is grown in November. This vegetable develops a sweet note reminiscent of the taste of the artichoke.
To eat in salad or gratin, or grilled in the pan.
Physalis
Physalis is a genus of plants of the family Solanaceae. It is harvested when the fruit is ripe, very yellow, from August or September. They are sown in a nursery in a greenhouse heated in March and then installed in open ground at the end of May. The physalis has a pineapple taste.
To consume with white fish or to taste raw in a salad.
Burnet
The burnet is a perennial herbaceous plant of the Rosaceae family. She enjoys the sun / half-sun and limestone soil. It resists cold. Its taste is reminiscent of cucumber and green nuts. To be consumed in salads and crudites or to flavor sauces.