Strawberry Spinach - Chenopodium capitatum

Blitum capitatum, also known as strawberry spinach or strawberry blite, is a forgotten vegetable that is unique and decorative. It is a variety of goosefoot with sagittate and dentate leaves, whose shiny and magenta-coloured fruiting resembles that of a raspberry rather than a strawberry. It occurs from June to October and is arranged in clusters of 3 to 5 in the axils of the leaves. Both the leaves and the juicy fruits are edible. The leaves have a nutty flavour and can be prepared like spinach. The fruits taste of slightly acidic beets rather than strawberries. However, care should be taken not to consume large quantities of leaves and fruits, as they contain a high amount of saponin and oxalic acid.

Strawberry spinach forms a 30 to 60cm (12 to 24in) bush in one year, resembling a small holly with its red berries from late spring to mid-autumn, proving once again that the vegetable garden can be both aesthetic and nourishing. You can plant this unique annual from March to May to enjoy its leaves and fruits from spring to autumn. After that, it will self-seed spontaneously if a few berries remain on the vegetation. It is an undemanding plant that can also be grown in pots.

This is a unique and tasty vegetable herb that can be used in a thousand ways. Eat the leaves in spring salads, in mixed greens, in Japanese tempura, quickly cooked in a wok, or even in savoury tarts with small pieces of goat's cheese or salmon. The fruits enhance sweet salads.

Strawberry spinach is native to Asia. It is easy to grow and adapts to all types of slightly moist soils in non-burning sun. Both the leaves and the fruits are edible, so you can use this vegetable almost all year round. It appreciates consistent, moist, and rich soils, especially those high in nitrogen and potassium.

Harvest: the leaves and fruits can be harvested according to their growth and your needs.

Storage: the leaves do not keep well in a refrigerator as they tend to become soft. It is best to consume them a few hours after harvesting. However, you can freeze them after blanching them for 3 minutes in salted boiling water. As for the fruits, you can let them dry in a dry and ventilated place. They can be used to enhance a fruit salad or release their fragrance in potpourri.

Gardener's tip: strawberry spinach thrives among rows of chicory and lettuce, which reciprocate the favour.