Clementine’s Dress

It may not look like one, but it is a real salad. Even more (Ingredient Special on Miner’s Lettuce/Claytonia perfoliata).

‘Goose food’, that’s what I thought when I first saw it. Because it looked exactly like some of that green stuff the lady on the farm next door would feed to her beloved noisy white jackets. The farm next door where I grew up.

But eventually we gave the Miner’s Lettuce a try (around here it is called ‘Postelein‘) because it was there, it was fresh, and it was from around town. Also, if you eat salad regularly, after a while you start to experiment with different shapes. Just to mix it up a little bit. And I have to say, these days we are big fans of the chewy, bright green leaves.

One reason for this is that although they do not store very well (just like lamb’s lettuce or arugula, by the way), they are pretty versatile. You can eat the leaves as a salad, or give them a quick hot bath and have them as a side dish with hot meals. This makes it easier to use up the lettuce and reduces food waste.

Plus, of course, I now know that they are remarkably high in vitamins A and C, which is pretty hard to get from a fresh plant in cold weather. But this is also the reason why it got its nickname ‘Miner’s Lettuce’. Legend has it that the miners of the California Gold Rush ate it to avoid scurvy.

Today, scientists would call it Claytonia perfoliata, after John Clayton, who first classified it according to botanical rules. It originated in the Americas, where it was eaten and, according to folklore, used for medicinal purposes such as treating rheumatism and sore eyes. A property that might also have come in handy for some of those gold diggers during the gold rush.

Another advantage of Miner’s Lettuce aka Claytonia perfoliata is that it is very easy to grow. It practically grows where it grows. This means that it does not have many requirements for a good place to stand. It will even grow in partial shade under large trees. A terrain that other plants usually don’t like. So it’s easily (and cheaply) available. This is probably one of the reasons why it was introduced to industrial Europe in the late 18th century.

If you want to introduce it to your balcony or garden, you’ll have to wait until the last frost is over. But not for too long, as it likes cool climates and will get dark and wither in the heat. So if you are in the northern hemisphere and spring is coming, you can start looking for a good spot now. If fall is approaching where you live, you can still sow it in a short time. New Zealand is already a popular spot for Miner’s Lettuce.

Either way, get your fresh green and start experimenting with these pretty little leaves.

Side Notes

• Yes, the name of the post …. You see, my English teacher used to break out his guitar and sing a lot during that one legendary field trip when I was in eighth grade. And definitely one of his favorites was the sad story of a miner’s daughter who was murdered by her crazy lover. And after that, he even writes and sings a song about how sorry he is. Aside from being weird, I thought at the time how unfair it was. And the moment I decided to do an ingredient special on Miner’s Lettuce, I knew what I was going to call it. You know, to make it up to that poor girl. At least she had a pretty green dress. These days, Clementine would probably not go into the wilderness with her family without first taking a self-defense course or even earning a dark belt in karate. Of course, the song would sound a little different in that version. I wonder if they would still sing it around the campfire (… and then she kicked his butt, lala …) 😉