Diplotaxis tenuifolia Montana - wild rocket

The Wild Rocket 'Montana' is a culinary plant with highly aromatic foliage that is loved for its taste and texture. Growing 10 to 20 cm tall, it has a slightly slower growth rate than cultivated rocket but has more pronounced, more intense flavours. It is spicy and pungent, with a hint of hazelnut, a salad that adds flavour to the foods it accompanies. It is robust and undemanding and can be sown directly outdoors in the ground, from March to September for a harvest approximately 2 months later.

Wild Rocket, in Latin, Diplotaxis tenuifolia, belongs to the Brassicaceae family, formerly known as Cruciferae. Known since antiquity, the Romans harvested it to flavour their salads. It was once forbidden in monastery gardens due to its aphrodisiac properties. It produces long, narrow, oblong, slightly thick, dark green leaves, with a spicy and peppery flavour. Pale yellow flowers veined with violet appear at the ends of the upright stems.

Wild Rocket Montana is not demanding, ideally cultivated in humus-bearing, moist, and well-draining soil, but it also tolerates ordinary soils well.

In the kitchen: Wild rocket is used like its cousin, domestic rocket, but its leaves are smaller and its aroma is stronger. Its unique taste varies depending on its cultivation method and the age of its leaves. When they are young, they have a nutty flavour, and when older, a hint of bitterness. In either case, rocket adds flavour to salads, raw vegetables, sandwiches, carpaccios... It easily integrates into "mesclun," a salad mix composed of lettuce, lamb's lettuce, chicory, oak leaf lettuce... It enhances pizzas, accompanies pasta dishes, or fills quiches, savoury tarts, lasagnas, and gratins. It is a valuable addition to soups, veloutés, or pesto. It pairs well with cuisines from around the world, such as Portugal, where it is served cooked with fish or meat, or in Turkey as an accompaniment to bulgur, or in Egypt in bean stews. With its flavours, rocket pairs well with goat cheese or gorgonzola, tomatoes, dry-cured ham, or walnut oil.

Health benefits of wild rocket: This refreshing and invigorating, leafy vegetable has digestive and antioxidant properties. It is rich in fibre, carotenes, vitamins A, C, and K, and provides calcium and iron.

Harvest: It is a good idea to sow at different times to obtain beautiful staggered harvests from May to November. Depending on the period and location, the first harvests occur 6 to 8 weeks after sowing. Simply cut the leaves at ground level, as needed.

Storage: Rocket leaves can be stored in the refrigerator for a few days. To fully enjoy its flavour, we recommend consuming it freshly picked.

Gardener's tip: Flea beetles are fond of rocket leaves and meticulously puncture them in dry and hot weather. While spraying tansy infusion can limit the damage, installing insect netting from sowing is the most effective method of control while avoiding the use of insecticides, which have consequences on the garden's balance, even if they are of natural origin.