Yes, we trimmed our Katuk Hedge this afternoon and the leaves are going into tonight’s dinner plus some for the freezer. This edible hedge has grown so well I’ve even introduced/shared some Katuk dishes with neighbors.
My hedge harvest
Katuk flowers are edible too!
Many Katuk gardeners in the US have blogged about “throwing them in salad” and tasting its “nutty flavor” but having eaten this plant for decades in Asia (& I used to call it Cekur Manis) I simply prefer the cooked version ~ in curries, in sambal (hot paste with shrimp base) dishes, etc. Well, today, I decided to cook it in a “fusion” kind of dish.
sauteed with garlic and olive oil
Too much for 1 dinner so I’ve frozen half of the sauteed Katuk, the other portion got cut up finely on a cutting board. It’s much easier to ‘control’ when cooked so if your dish requires “finely chopped/diced” greens, stir-fry Katuk till it’s slightly limp then cut them up.
I’ve slow-cooked it with pasta sauce from my freezer (made from home-grown tomatoes) plus onions, mushrooms, firm tofu and loads of sweet basil from the backyard.
Vegetarian pasta topping
Tonight’s dinner is probably unheard of, as yet, so I’m going to call it Penne con Katuk.
Penne con Katuk
