Lambsquarter is delicious. It is often overlooked or even eradicated as a weed. But, just because it’s wild doesn’t mean it isn’t lovely and perfect. It’s leaves are small and have a powdery, silver look. That powdery bit is salt that the plants uptake from the soil! I love salt. So, score 1 for lambsquarter! It also fares much better in the summer than most other greens. It literally grows itself. I spread the seed tops around every year to places where they can make a little forest, and that’s it. They don’t even need irrigation. Score 2!! AND, it really is delicious and is a perfect substitute for spinach. So, there you have it. Lambsquarter is the unsung garden hero and winner of the Scrapper Plants Award for June 2017.
According to Mother Earth News, there are many, many uses for lambsquarter that I’ve never tried, such as using the seed for grains and making shampoo. Wow. What a first-string player! But, don’t be overwhelmed. You don’t need to be astute in all its culinary and medicinal applications to appreciate its nutritional generosity and mild, slightly salty taste. Just harvest a few ounces and use it just as you would spinach. This stuff is good raw. It’s good cooked. It’s good with eggs. It’s good in a smoothy. It’s good in a soup. The leaves are small and must be removed from the stems, which are woody and not edible. This can be tedious if you need a lot. But, a quarter pound? No problem. For this reason, I use lambsquarter in my summer frittatas, like this one.
PrintLambsquarter Frittata
This frittata is simple and quick to prepare, tastes great as leftovers and stores well in the freezer!
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
Ingredients
6 eggs
1/3 cup of aged cheese of choice (I used cheddar this time) **optional**
3 to 4 ounces lambs quarter leaves, washed and dried in salad spinner
1 medium to large sweet pepper, chopped
6 ounces onion, chopped
1 large clove garlic, smashed and chopped
3 teaspoons olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Crack six eggs in to a large mixing bowl, add salt and pepper, and beat with a fork or a whisk to mix up well. Set aside.
- Heat 2 teaspoons olive oil in a large, oven-safe skillet over medium high heat and add onion and garlic. Cook until they barely begin to brown, about 10 minutes.
- Add chopped pepper and cook for about 2 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent the onion and garlic from burning.
- Add lambsquarter to pan and cook until completely wilted, about 5 minutes.
- Spoon the vegetable mixture into the mixing bowl with your waiting eggs and whisk around until everything is well mixed.
- Add one teaspoon olive oil and coat bottom of the already heated skillet. Then, pour in egg mixture and distribute evenly.
- Lower heat to medium and cook until eggs begin to set, about 10 minutes.
- Turn oven to broil and sprinkle cheese, if you are using it, over the top of your frittata.
- Transfer your frittata to the middle shelf of your oven and broil for 5 to 10 minutes or until the top of your frittata turns a nice golden brown.
- Remove your frittata and taste that deliciousness. Uh, huh. That’s what home cooked tastes like, baby!
Notes
This pairs well with Tomato sauce.
Pat Williamson
Had it with spinach instead of lambs quarter and it was delicious.
Lesley
I’m so glad you liked it! You can use Swiss Chard, too!