Good enough to eat

BEFORE you go throwing those dandelions, nettles and ground elder into the compost bin, think again –because weeds can miraculously be turned into gourmet veg.

If you boil nettles, their sting instantly disappears and they can be added to soups and quiches.

Cover dandelions with a bucket a couple of weeks before harvesting them for mild-tasting pale leaves that are great in salads, or lightly steam some leaves of ground elder - one of the hardest perennial weeds to eradicate - and serve them with a knob of butter.

Other weeds, including Shepherd’s Purse, have deliciously spicy leaves similar to those of watercress, while pineapple weed gives a taste of the tropical, which goes well in yoghurt dips or sprinkled on salads.

You may not have them all in your garden, but it shouldn’t take much foraging to find a few to take to the dinner table.