Tumbleweed Chowder
List of Ingredients
Tumbleweed Chowder
Servings: 4
Classification: Contemporary
Nation/Tribe: Southwest (submitted to Native-Cooking-L by Jim Weller, Yellow Knife)
Ingredients
1 lb Young tumbleweed shoots
Water to cover
Salt & Pepper to taste
1 Jalapeno pepper
1/2 Diced smoked ham
Directions
While living in southern California (once upon a time) I did a lot
of experimenting with wild edibles, but my favorite was
tumbleweed chowder (thick soup really). It has a taste similar
to split pea soup. No recipe I use is "set in stone" and any
number of combinations can be used. I'm one of the kinds of
cooks who doesn't measure ingredients too often and usually if
I have any leftovers in the fridge they get thrown into another
recipe. (Don't have too many leftovers at my house). You have
to gather the tumbleweed when it's just coming up about 4"
high. Older plants are tough and to my knowledge inedible.
Gather enough plants to make you a sizeable chowder. I guess
maybe a pound or two for about 4 people is good. Wash the
plants and chop them up real fine and put in a saucepan with
enough water to barely cover. Salt and pepper to taste. I added
a little fresh chopped jalapeno pepper to mine but that's
optional. Throw in about 1/2 cup of finely diced smoked ham
chunks, cover with lid and simmer until the tumbleweed is
tender. Then you can run it all through a blender or food
processor to puree. You should have a thick soup as an end
result that tastes very well. I've tried it using bacon instead of
ham and it's ok but I prefer ham. If you want a chunkier soup
you don't have to puree it. There are quite a few variations. Any
split pea soup recipe will do, substituting the tumbleweed for
the peas of course. Since I now live in TN, I don't get a chance
to pick tumbleweeds any more but I can still remember the
delightful taste.
Recipe
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