Claudia Uffhaus picks nasturtiums to use in the salad. Nasturtiums have delicious, peppery leaves and sweet nectar hidden in the flowers. Once used to combat scurvy (they are rich in vitamin C), they were often referred to as Indian Cress because of their similarity in flavour to watercress.
Just a few minutes of picking yields a beautiful selection of floral confetti, ready to be used in the dishes of the day. “The great thing about edible flowers is that many of us already have them in our gardens, and if not they are generally really easy to grow.”
The rustic home she shares with her husband, garden landscaper Tom, and their children, Tai and Rubi, is on the same property as the Good Hope Nursery, founded by her indigenous gardening icon and mother-in-law Gael. Plants and trees that you would be hard-pressed to find in commercial nurseries are the order of the day at this bastion of local flora. And amongst water-wise, pro-indigenous gardeners, it has become a beacon of planting in accordance with the Cape climate. In recent years, people have made the effort to visit this far-flung nursery, some 60kms from the city, for another reason—Roushanna’s sold out Veld & Sea wild food foraging expeditions. Like any chef worth their salt, Roushanna is on a continuous quest to discover new edible opportunities and, in her case, wild food flavour marriages.
Whether you visit in winter or summer, rain or shine, it is an unrelenting environment featuring a rocky coast that has claimed many passing ships over the centuries. Some 400 years ago, when the Dutch colonists settled in the Cape to grow produce for the passing sea trade, they relied heavily on the local populace for guidance on where to source indigenous edible offerings and, equally, what was safe to eat. Crops failed, the weather didn’t play ball, and relying on local knowledge was essential to their survival. Much of this information has been lost over the centuries except for a growing group of enthusiasts like Roushanna who are intent on rediscovering and sharing their often delicious and always fascinating findings.
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