Real World Gardener Huacatay in Spice It Up

SPICE IT UP <p>Huacatay: Stinking Roger</p> <p> Unless you’re a herb and spice expert, there’s bound to be a few spices that you’ve never heard of.  Perhaps Mace isn’t so well known, or asafetida, ajowan, nigella and salem or cubeb peppers.  But then a herb comes along that even stumps the guru that comes on the program, and it even turns out to be a weed.</p> <a href='https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ObM_TU-vv6Q/XrEqXOYoG-I/AAAAAAAAhxI/0316Washg7IA7QYqIUVXfY6p9MbfKOZ-QCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/huacatay.jpg'></a> Huacatay <p>So what can it be?  Let’s find out .  I'm talking with Ian Hemphill from <a href='http://www.herbies.co.au/'>www.herbies.com.au</a>  Huacatay leaves are a little bit like cilantro or coriander.</p> The flavour profile is supposed to have notes of basil, spearmint, citrus with notes of tarragon,  Also used a lot in South American food going with pork and duck very well. A traditional dish made with potato and goat, called "Ocapa." Good companion plant for other plants as its reputed to control nematodes. Huacatay is not available for sale as a herb, but is one you would need to find as 'wild harvest.' <ul><li>If you have stinking roger growing in your garden, then perhaps the dried leaf could be used in cooking, but I wouldn’t recommend harvesting anything along the roadside because it may have been sprayed with an insecticide.</li> <li>Not only that, all the fallout from hundreds of cars passing the weed, shall we say, won’t be a good thing to want to eat no matter how many times you washed it. </li> </ul> Ian says that he imagines that from 1 kilogram of fresh leaf you would get about 100grams of dried leaf. If you have any questions of course, why not email <a href='mailto:realworldgardener@gmail.com'>realworldgardener@gmail.com</a> or write in to 2RRR P.O. Box 644 Gladesville NSW 1675.