With the trees just about to break from bud into a kaleidoscope of lime green visual delight, and a slightly cold wind coming in, I decided to make this warming cleavers bake. Cleavers is also known as goosegrass. You must only pick the top tips of the cleavers as they might be too stringy if you use older growth.
Ingredients
- 650g sliced (rounds) aubergine
- 150g cleavers tips
- 2 onions (sliced)
- 2 garlic cloves (chopped)
- 2 tbsp mixed herbs
- 1 tin of tomatoes
- 500ml cheese sauce
- 2 tsps tomato puree
- salt
- water
Suggested Instructions
- Slice aubergine, then lightly oil the slices, now grill them for 2 minutes on high until wilted, turning occasionally.
- Steam fry the cleavers straight from being washed, do not bother to shake dry, then set aside.
- Sauté the onions and garlic until translucent, then add the tin tomatoes, mixed herbs, a pinch of salt and the tomato puree. Stir and simmer for 15 minutes.
- In the meantime make up your cheese sauce. When both the sauces are ready, layer a dish with tomato sauce, aubergine, cleavers and cheese sauce, then repeat until all used up finishing with a layer of cheese sauce on top.
- Pop in the oven at 180 degrees and bake until piping hot and bubbling, about 30 minutes.
Serves: 2
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
I’m going to try this. I have lots of ‘sticky willy’ in the garden, pull it out all the time, and I get plenty of tiny aubergines which have been thrown out by the shop down the road, which normally I compost, as my family professes not to like aubergine.
But in this mousaka-like dish looks lovely, and if I use white flour, goats cheese and goats milk or soya milk, the people in my family on ‘special diets’ may be tempted. Let’s hope so.
Thank you for the inspiration.
John in York
Gday Robin
first of all would like to say thank you for the great day we had foraging in Otterton..wow so much to take in on one day!!! but hey ! the Cleavers bake sounds amazing yummy ….
keep up the great work and keep smiling
bestest wishes
Karyn
Thank you for the recipe, however I am in the USA, and have no idea wat cleavers or aubergine is. I’ll have to look them up!
Mary: Aubergine = eggplant. Cleavers = Galium aparine
please could you have a picture with the recipe of the ingredients as i have no idea what some look like ,I know the common ones but i have to come out of this page and hunt them down ,many thanks sam.
Thanks for a great recipe Robin, me n the missis loved it, and it was the first time I’ve used cleavers!
Also, I added in two layers of raw ramsons for that mild green garlic taste, turned out really well, definitely one for the recipe book.
Thanks Man
Hi, Robin,
This sounds delicious, and I wish I lived next to John’s grocer – I loooove aubergine. I’m fairly adventurous, but I haven’t yet tried cleavers. Time I did.
I live in France. A friend and I lead ‘wild salad’ walks for the public each spring. Last week about twenty guests tramped the fields and hedgerows near Saumur, then chopped and tossed the dozen plants we’d chosen to introduce to them into a tabbouleh and a green salad, and enjoyed them with wild garlic croutons.
I really enjoy your newsletter and recipes, merci beaucoup.