Ground elder, the weed known as “gardener’s fright”, is considered ineradicable. What can be done about it? Just eat it! Ground elder is delicious (and so healthy) in salads, as lemonade, pesto or – as in my recipe – as ground elder tarte.

Once you have the ground elder in the garden, you will hardly get rid of it. With its underground offshoots it spreads rapidly. As a gardener you hardly have a chance against it. But if you know how good this wild vegetable tastes, you begin to reconcile with this herb. In addition, it is awarded a great healing power in rheumatism, arthritis and gout. That’s why ground elder is also commonly called “Zipperleinskraut” [gout’s herb] in Germany.

Ground elder can be prepared as a vegetable such as spinach and thus suits very well for tartes or as a filling for dumplings. As a substitute for parsley, it can be added to any food and the young, barely unfolded leaves are perfect addition to any salad. Of course, you can also dry it and use for tea or chop and freeze it. Then you have a supply for the winter, because experienced herbal women say you should eat ground elder daily…