Wild Greens

Text: CC Bakes


This winter I grew rocket in my garden. Just in a few small pots, but it was a patch one should be proud of. For me, rocket is probably the most versatile of the leafy greens. You can basically put it anywhere, in anything. It’ll brighten the blandest tomato and cheese sandwich and chaperone the most salad-poor plate. It is something I put in my mouth almost every day, and with good reason. The rocket from our garden was a revelation of sorts. I realised I had barely tasted rocket before I had tasted the garden-grown kind.

Though rocket usually has a light pepper taste, different from its leafy cousins the cos or butter lettuces with their simpler and subtler flavours, this rocket was powerful. Eaten alone was like biting into a handful of peppercorns, but crunchier and crispier, and more delicious. This new rocket sensation was like putting your glasses on in the morning – you felt completely blind before. Anyway, now that I’ve eaten my way through the rocket harvest, I am a little lost as to what to plant now that will replace my beloved green, and also a little reluctant to go back to the rocket I used to know, the one not from my garden.

Another delicious taste of what comes every Wednesday from CC Bakes