Friday 4 May 2018

A Salad with Cranberry Hibiscus Leaves

I am wanting to grow more edible perennials in my garden for food around the fence line!  One of the first I've planted is Cranberry Hibiscus. I love its deep dark red leaves and stems and it's tiny pink hibiscus flower. It's grown quickly and its tiny, young leaves are delicious and tart, just like dried cranberries.  (A warning though that one should not eat too many leaves at once or too often as they contain oxalic acid, a recommendation explained here in this fact sheet about Cranberry Hibiscus).

Deep red leaves of Cranberry Hibiscus.

I wanted to use some of these new leaves and, when searching for culinary inspiration, found this recipe for Sweet Potato and Pear Salad with Crunchy Chickpeas. I made my own version using what I had. This meant I used up a half tin of chickpeas from the fridge,  switched rocket with roasted broccoli and substituted the leaves of cranberry hibiscus for dried cranberries. I went nowhere near a fancy dressing (though the one from the recipe sounds delicious) instead just lazily drizzling on a little balsamic. Here's my take on it:

Roasted chunks of sweet potato.

Not-so-crunchy chickpeas & tart cranberry hibiscus leaves.

 Little cubes of feta & roasted broccoli too...

... and sweet slivers of roasted nashi pear. 

Something a bit different! I think the only thing I'd change would be the chickpeas. I found I really did want the crunchy ones!

Have a lovely weekend everyone. 
Meg

p.s. Cranberry hibiscus grows well from cuttings. 






14 comments:

  1. Oh gee, that looks yummy! You are very clever at throwing together a salad, I still need a recipe!! 😏

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    1. It was quite nice! The recipe I found did give me a bit of a kick start though. Meg:)

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  2. Hi Meg,
    This salad sounds just wonderful, what a fabulous combination. The colours would be lovely too, have a lovely day,
    Fi

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    1. I really enjoyed the tartness of the cranberry hibiscus leaves and the sweetness of the roasted nashi pear together. Have a lovely weekend, Fi. Meg:)

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  3. That certainly sounds different, Meg. I haven't heard of Cranberry Hibiscus. I only found out last year when researching how to grow rosellas that they were from the Hibiscus family too.

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    1. I heard about it at the introduction to permaculture course I did a while ago, Chel, and then I found a little plant up at Green Harvest when I visited. I haven't had any success growing Rosella, much to my dismay because I adore rosella jam. Meg:)

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  4. It's interesting learning about different plants.

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    1. It's lovely when they are edible too! Meg:)

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  5. Fancy spread, and good on you for experimenting! I love a bit of fruit with my starch, as it sweetens them and makes it easier to digest. One question though, did the hibiscus leaves actually taste like cranberry?

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    1. Yes, they have quite a tart taste like dried cranberries do. A bit more subtle perhaps. Meg:)

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  6. That looks delicious. It's interesting to see all of the exotic salads people are making these days. (Especially the fruits.) Remember when mothers just used iceberg lettuce and store bought tomatoes? That cranberry hibiscus sounds like a lovely plant. I'm working towards edible landscaping here in California, too.

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    1. I love salads of all kinds! I do remember salads of iceberg lettuce and tomato, slices of cucumber and tinned corn and beetroot too. I typically now throw all kinds of things in together and call it salad;) The colour of the cranberry hibiscus is striking for contrast in the garden, the little leaves and flowers are edible and it's fast growing and easily propogated. Great plant!

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  7. Yummo. Does it flower like a hibiscus?

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    1. Yes, it does get flowers. Light pink and quite pretty.

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