Agastache, talinium, cosmos, perilla, sage… Did you know that we can eat the flowers or the leaves of these plants? We don’t necessarily think about it, but we can finding lots of new flavors in nature that surrounds us. In Buzançais, the municipality set up, at the beginning of August, the operation “From the flower to the plate”.
The project, led by the green spaces department and the chef of the Pérégrinations restaurant Franck Gatefin, consists of installing 46 flower boxes all over the city. Inside, you can discover edible flowers. All the inhabitants can come and help themselves, collect a few leaves or a few flowers to cook. “The main idea is to surprise people by making them see that we can eat flowers”explains Guillaume Forestier, head of the city’s green spaces department.
A recipe idea each week
In all, one can discover about sixty plants, scattered in the commune. “It’s educational, these are revisited shared gardens”, he adds. On each bin, you can scan a QR code to find out more on these plants, on the way they are eaten.
“Everyone has flowers that are eaten in their garden, without knowing itassures Franck Gatefin. That’s what is extraordinary, there is a range of extraordinary tastes with these plants”. Passionate about edible flowers, the chef of the Peregrinations restaurant grows it on the terrace of his establishment. To help Buzancéens dare to taste these flowers or leaves, he offers a recipe idea each week. It is published on its Facebook page and on the town hall’s website.
– Emeline Ferry
On the menu this week: an agastache and zucchini gratin, with a few slices of Sainte-Maure-de-Touraine. Agastache is a plant that has an anise or mint flavor. Recently, the Berrichon chef also suggested a recipe for a refreshing drink made with perilla, also called Chinese basil or shiso.
While strolling in Buzançais, you can for example discover the cheese plant and its leaves that smell of camembertTulbaghia whose flowers have a garlic flavor or Dahlia petals which have a slightly sweet taste.