Pigweed is one of the common names given to a clutch of Amaranth species that crash parties where they are not wanted.
Photography by Marie Viljoen.
Including Amaranthus retroflexus red root pigweed A spinosus spiny pigweed A palmeri Palmer s pigweed and A hybridus rough pigweed these uninvited agricultural and garden guests are so ubiquitous that...
...they seldom invite closer scrutiny from farmers and gardeners who pull them up by the roots or douse them in Roundup some species are now glyphosate resistant as a result
Wild amaranths are eaten in South Africa as nutritious pot herbs.
Amaranths are nutritious, stuffed with vitamins, folic acid (vitamin B9), minerals, and protein.
Wherever I have gardened pigweed has followed me. On a rooftop in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn, it volunteered one year in a pot where a beautiful rose grew.
On our Harlem terrace pigweed appeared and competed with the equally tenacious (but deliberately planted) jewelweed. It also absorbs a great deal of nitrogen (like spinach), so do not collect vast quantities from highly fertilized agricultural fields.
It was while we lived in Harlem that I was thrilled to discover huge bunches of callaloo at a farmers’ market on 125th Street, sold by an upstate New York farmer with a thick Caribbean accent.
The eating world is slowly warming up to the idea of amaranth as dinner. On my plate at a Brooklyn restaurant I identified pigweed tempura where the menu listed “wild spinach.” Then I spotted it at the Union Square farmers’ market, at First World prices.
For a warm soup, I cook pigweed leaves with lemon juice and vegetable stock and drop in a just-cooked egg before serving. Add some yogurt, whizz in a blender, top with some powdered sumac, serve cold.
For pigweed pesto, scoop the gelatinous pulp from a salt-preserved Meyer lemon, and slice the skin into ribbons before chopping it finely. When you have a coarse paste, it is ready for hot, egg yolky pasta.
More like a pizza, the dough for this rustic tart is nothing but flour and olive oil and water; instead of being solid, it is crisp and flaky, and very easy. For the topping I used wilted pigweed (or lamb’s quarters) leaves.
For this salad I sauté the finely chopped leaves and late summer seedheads of amaranth with some thinly sliced lemon zest, allow the mixture to cool, and top green tomatoes and mozzarella with the lemony-green relish.
Warm the olive oil in a pan over medium heat and add the garlic.
Pigweed Tacos