Growing and Using Salad Burnet

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Growing and Using Salad Burnet

By Brenda Hyde

Salad burnet, Poterium sanguisorba, is an interesting herb to grow

in your garden with it's fern-like leaves, but even more importantly

it's an easy to grow, useful herb. It's leaves taste much like

cucumber, and can be used whole in salads or chopped into soups and

other dishes.

Burnet is a perennial that can be grown from seed, and harvested

early the first year. Start indoors to give it a head start or direct

seed after the last frost. The first year it will reach 6-8 inches,

and you can begin using the leaves when they are about 4 inches high.

Cut back your burnet and use the leaves often, this will keep them

coming and they won't get large enough to become tough.

 

You can plant burnet in light shade-but it needs about 6 hours of sun

to do well. It's not picky about soil-wet feet in heavy soil can rot

the roots, but dry soil is no problem. In mild climates it will

continue to grow into the winter months, and it comes back quickly in

the spring, following the chives, which seem to always pop up first.

Keep the flowers cut off for the best performance, or allow one plant

to reseed itself if you wish. The second year it will grow to 18

inches, but again, if allowed to grow this large without harvesting

it will become tough.

 

Burnet does not dry well, but you can freeze it or use it in your

herb vinegar mixtures. It has an excellant flavor for vinegars that

you use in salad dressings! The tender leaves can be used in dips,

with fish, or in tea sandwiches.

 

Burnet Tea Sandwiches

Ingredients:

1 pound loaf unsliced white bread (or 2 smaller loaves)

1/2 cup butter

16 ounces cream cheese, softened

2 tablespoons chives, chopped

1/4 cup chopped salad burnet leaves

1/4 cup milk or cream

lettuce

Trim the crust from loaves and cut bread into 1/2 inch slices. Mix

together cream cheese, butter, and milk. Add burnet and chives.

Lightly spread mix on one side of each slice of bread. Top with

pieces of lettuce and put two slices together. Wrap all with foil

until time to serve, and cut into four squares or triangles.

 

Dill Burnet Butter

Ingredients:

1/2 pound unsalted butter

1 tsp. Dijon mustard

2-3 salad burnet sprigs

2-3 sprigs fresh dill

Blend all ingredients thoroughly until all is creamed. Use on

sandwiches, fish or vegetables after steaming.

 

Herb Vingear for Dressings

Combine two sprigs each of oregano, salad burnet, thyme, and parsley.

Add five to six stems of chives (the blooms are nice too if it's that

time of year). Place these in a quart jar and pour the vinegar over

the herbs until almost full. Place the lid on and allow to sit for 3-

4 weeks. Strain and use on fish and in salad dressings.

 

Herb Dressing and Mixed Green Salad

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups olive oil

3 Tbsp. herb Vinegar

1 Tbsp. honey

3-4 Sprigs each: Salad Burnet, Oregano and Basil

Mixture of salad greens and lettuce

thinly sliced and seeded cucumber slices

radishes, green or red pepper and tomato

 

Combine oil, vinegar, honey, salad burnet, marjoram, oregano and

basil sprigs in blender and process until smooth. Chill 2 hours. Use

over a salad of mixed greens with thinly sliced vegetables.