Spicy Edible Plants

There’s always been a connection between hot countries and spicy food. The common assumption is that foods that make us sweat (or perspire) cool us down. Want to learn more about spicy, edible plants?

There’s another theory! It says that hot weather acts as a natural appetite suppressant, while spicy food acts as an appetite stimulant.

Doesn’t that sound like South Africa? We love our food and we love it spicy. Thanks to our climate we can grow hot, peppery or mustardy veggies and herbs almost all year round. In other words; veggies and herbs that tingle the taste buds.

Autumn Chilli Harvest

March in South Africa means it’s harvest time for chillies that were planted in September and October. These can be preserved in many ways – such as drying (especially cayenne peppers), freezing whole or puréed in a blender, pickling, cooked up into sauces and salsas, or preserved in oil.

Try this recipe:

Pickled green chilli is delicious added to sandwiches or chopped and mixed into salads (think tuna) and salsa. Combine half a cup vinegar, half a cup sugar and spices (dill seed, mustard seed, salt), and 8 to 10 green chillies cut in strips in a pan and simmer over a low heat for five minutes. Put the mixture into small, sterilised jars, cover with the liquid and add some garlic to each jar. Cover tightly, and refrigerate for 3 days before using.

Autumn Planting

• Asian greens and mustards are cool season veggies that add a warm, peppery flavour to salads, stir fries and soups.
• Radishes are a quick and easy-to-grow crop. They can be sown throughout the year but they do better in cooler weather.
• Nasturtiums have peppery-flavoured leaves and edible flowers. Use nasturtium flowers and young leaves to add colour and flavour to salads.

Horseradish

Later in autumn or early winter when horseradish plants die down, harvest the roots. You can use these to make the hot, piquant horseradish sauce. It’s delicious served with roast meat, sushi, or vegetables that need a kick. Horseradish sauce can also be used instead of wasabi. This gives an indication of its heat!

Recipe: To make horseradish sauce, peel and finely grate horseradish root (2 tablespoons) and mix it with half a cup sour cream, 2 tablespoons mayonnaise, 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar, 1 tablespoon chopped chives, salt and pepper to taste. Let it stand for an hour before serving. Refrigerate for up to two weeks.

Vietnamese coriander

Another hot herb that will go into winter is perennial Vietnamese coriander (Persicaria odorata). It has the same flavour as coriander, but with a hotter peppery aftertaste. This plant is frost-tolerant and the leaves dry well and retain their flavour. Vietnamese coriander is also known as hot mint.

Its fern-like leaves withstand longer cooking, combining particularly well with chillies, garlic, ginger and lemon grass. It grows in full sun in well-composted soil that drains well. Keep trimming the plant to encourage new growth and prevent woody stems.

Use the fresh or dried leaves in combination with other herbs to make marinades, rubs and tasty herb crusts for roasted meat.

Radishes

Radishes germinate quickly and are ready for harvesting from three weeks. They are nicest when pulled and eaten before they are fully grown. For an ongoing supply, sow a new row of radishes every 10 days. In South Africa, radishes can be grown all year round. Plant them in full sun in spring and autumn and semi-shade during hot summer months.

Grow them in fertile, well-composted soil. If your radishes are grown in poor soil they may get tough and bitter. Sow radish seeds in situ, in rows and don’t overcrowd them, the space between plants should be 10cm. When seedlings are about 7cm high, nourish with a liquid feed.

READ MORE: 3 Herbs For Your Next Spicy Dish

Asian Greens

Asian Greens are mustards and members of the brassica family. Tatsoi, pak choi, Chinese cabbage michilli, mizuna are asians greens range in heat from mild and lightly peppery. Mustards like ‘Giant Red’, ‘Red Frills’ and ‘Green in Snow‘ have more of a bite.

The individual leaves of Asian greens can be harvested in the same manner as kale or Swiss chard. In the case of tatsoi, pak choi and Chinese cabbage, the whole plant can be cut at once. Asian greens are a good source of minerals and vitamins A, C, D, E and B.

Like all brassicas, they need full sun in winter, except mizuna that can grow in partial shade. Plant in fertile well-composted soil and water regularly. The soil should be consistently moist, neither dry out or become waterlogged. Feed once a month with a nitrogen-rich fertiliser. Control aphids and snails.

Varieties to look out for

• ‘Green in Snow’ (Brassica juncea) is very frost-hardy. It grows like spinach but larger; 1m high and 80cm wide.
• ‘Red Giant’ (Brassica napus) has large bronze-red leaves. It grows 60cm high and 40cm wide.
• ‘Red Frills’ mustard (Brassica juncea) can be harvested as a micro-green.
• Tatsoi (Brassica narinosa) forms a rosette of dark green, glossy leaves that are rich in iron. The garden height and spread is 20cm.
• Pak Choi (Brassica rapa var chinensis) has spoon-shaped green leaves and whitish stems. The leaves can be cooked like spinach and the stems steamed like asparagus. 
• Mizuna (Brassica rapa japonica) has light green serrated leaves with a pleasant peppery flavour. It’s reminiscent of rocket but sweeter.

Mustardy Micro Greens

Garden cress (Lepidium sativum) has a peppery, tangy flavour and aroma. It grows fast, being ready for harvesting within 14 days or it can be used as a microgreen garnish by cutting off the tops with sharp scissors.

It can be grown in pots, hanging baskets or window boxes in sunny, sheltered positions. Feed with a liquid fertiliser at half strength after planting out. Sow successive crops every two weeks.

For the rest of the year

When we get back to spring and summer, you can start sowing your chillies. Sow chillies in September in warmer areas and October in cooler areas. The hotter the chillies, the warmer the soil needs to be for germination.

Later in summer pot chillies become available, and can be planted out or kept in pots. Varieties include ‘Bird’s Eye’, ‘Cherry Bomb’, ‘Habanero’, ‘Jalapeño’, ‘Serrano’ and ‘Thai Dragon’.

Hot herbs for summer are rocket, Mexican mint marigold (Tagetes lucida) that has intense tarragon-flavoured leaves and a strong liquorice/anise fragrance, and oregano ‘Hot & Spicy’ (Origanum vulgare) that has strong chilli flavoured leaves.

READ MORE: Galangal – the up-and-coming spice you need to know about!