There’s such a glut of Alexanders (Smyrnium olusatrum) at the moment – yes even in mid-January – and I have always wanted to turn it into chutney, so putting on my thinking cap I went to work to create this gorgeous Alexanders recipe.

I based it on an old chutney recipe that my grandmother used to make when I was a young boy.

Ingredients

• 500g alexanders stems (chopped)
• 3 x onions (chopped)
• 7.5oz sugar
• ¼ cup sherry vinegar
• ¼ cup red wine vinegar
• 1½ tsp mustard powder
• ½ tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tbsp cornflour
• eighth pint of water

Suggested Instructions

1. Boil alexanders stems and onions in just enough salted water to cover, cook until al dente then strain.
2. Put back in the pan with the sugar and vinegar, and boil for 15 minutes. Meanwhile mix the mustard, turmeric, cornflour and eighth pint of water into a smooth paste, then stir into the alexanders and boil for 15 minutes or longer if the mixture needs thickening more.
3. Sterilise your jars, then fill with chutney and cap.

Very few people mention using the root of sea kale, but in this sea kale recipe the deep flavours come through, a combination between cooked broccoli stems and sweet chestnuts. A very interesting sea kale recipe, and one well worth trying if you like something different.

A warning though, digging up sea kale roots needs the land owners permission, and because digging up the roots causes the plant to die, please only try this very occasionally. In some parts of the country sea kale is very scarce.

Ingredients

• 150g sea kale roots (grated)
• 150g sweet potato (grated)
• oil (couple of glugs)
• 2 tbsp flour
• 1 egg (beaten)
• salt & pepper

Suggested Instructions

1. Grate sea kale root and sweet potatoes and combine in a bowl
2. Add flour, salt & pepper and beaten egg, mix together
3. Form into patties, then bake in a moderate over 160° C for roughly 20 minutes

Serves: 4 (as a side dish)

A lovely bitter sweet rowanberry jelly recipe that goes well with strong, hard cheese and biscuits, also good with cold lamb and day old roast potatoes…

I created this cider based rowan berry jelly recipe while pondering what to do with my large harvest of bullace. Traditionally rowan jelly was made with rowan berries and crab apples, but in this recipe, crab apples are replaced by bullace, with the pectin coming from the rowan berries which have ample amounts.

Ingredients

• 500g rowanberries (frozen 48 hours or longer, then defrosted)
• 500g bullace (frozen 48 hours or longer, then defrosted)
• 1 pint of medium cider
• 500g cane sugar

Suggested Instructions

1. Put the rowan berries and bullace in a jam pan along with the cider and slowly bring to the boil. Simmer for 60 minutes.
2. Strain through a jelly bag over night or for at least 12 hours. This should yield approximately 1 pint of liquid. For every pint of liquid collected, add 500g of cane sugar.
3. Bring the liquid to the boil stirring occasionally until it has reached setting point. Setting point is when you can put a bit of the hot mixture on a cold plate, wait until it has cooled, then drag your finger through it. If the liquid does not fall back into a puddle but leaves a path through it then your jelly is ready to bottle.
4. Wash your jam jars in hot soapy water, then dry and sterilise in a fan assisted oven at 150°C for 10 minutes.
5. Pour the bullace and rowanberry jelly liquid into the hot jam jars and cap. Store in a dark cupboard. They should keep for at least a year. Enjoy.

Makes: 3 standard jam jars

At this time of year (Nov) there are still large numbers of staghorn sumach (Rhus typhina) available. This thirst quenching drink develops a lovely pink colour, and the sharpness makes it a perfect alternative to tangy lemonade. A great staghorn sumach recipe to try if this is your first time working with the plant.

Ingredients

• 5 staghorn sumach flower heads
• 1 litre of warm water
• honey (to taste)

Suggested Instructions

• Get a 1 litre capacity jug, and put the staghorn sumach flower heads into it. Next pour over the warm water and weight down so the heads are submerged. Leave for a couple of hours or overnight. Sweeten with honey, and serve chilled. Delicious.

I love the seeds in this sea purslane (Atriplex portulacoides) recipe. Most folk usually only talk about the leaves. However the seeds of sea purslane are far easier to gather than the leaves, and vast quantities can be collected in a very short time.

The seeds of the Atriplex genus have in bygone days been ground into a meal, but on this occasion I decided to make a pesto, and boy did it work. I placed a huge bowl in front of some friends, and it was wolfed down in the blink of an eye. Definitely a sea purslane recipe worth trying, even if I say so myself.

Ingredients

• 4 handfuls of sea purslane seed
• 1 handful of pumpkin seeds
• 1 garlic clove (chopped)
• 1 lemon (juiced)
• black pepper
• olive oil

Suggested Instructions

1. De-twig the sea purslane seeds, and then wash the seeds until the water looks relatively clear.
2. Place all the ingredients in a blender, and pulse until a to the desired consistency. I find that sometimes I like smooth pesto, and at other times a more chunky variation is desired.
3. Pour into a bowl, and swirl over some additional olive oil and lemon juice , and top off by sprinkling some toasted sea purslane seeds.
4. Serve with crudités or warmed pita breads.

With the abundance of Rosehips this year I decided to take advantage of them to create this unique tasting Rosehip vinegar recipe. Rosehip Vinegar is the perfect accompaniment to vegetables and salads as well as ham, smoked meats and fish and is the perfect addition to game sauces.

With Christmas looming, this makes a wonderful, beautiful gift for the foodies in your family. Use old bottles, corks etc to give your Rosehip vinegar recipe that ‘folksy’ look.

Ingredients

• Rosehips
• White wine vinegar
• Bottle & Cap/Cork

Instructions

1. Gather your Rosehips (preferably after a frost but in the UK that might not be until Feb or March, so instead freeze them, then defrost and use), then top and tail them and pierce each one numerous times with a pin. You DO NOT want to crush them as the hairs inside the hips are highly irritant to your throat and gut, and must not be consumed.
2. Next pop them in your bottle until it is full, then pour on cold white wine vinegar.
3. Cap and place in a cupboard for around 6-8 weeks, giving them a good shake occasionally.

Serves: As many dishes as the size of your bottle.

I always encourage folks to create simple, tapas style dishes when creating wild food recipes. Here’s a Stinging Nettle recipe I came up with the other day that worked a treat.

Ingredients

• 200g blanched nettles
• 50g chorizo (cut into chunks)
• 2tbsp light olive oil
• 1 onion (finely chopped)
• 2 cloves of garlic (chopped)
• Chicken stock
• White wine
• Chilli flakes
• Crushed black pepper

Suggested Instructions

1. In a separate pan, lightly fry the chorizo until just browning, remove from heat.
2. Blanch the Nettle tips for about 45 seconds, thoroughly squeeze out the water, then chop finely.
3. Fry onion until translucent, and then add the garlic, cook for about a minute then add the nettles, chilli flakes and black pepper, and saute for 3 minutes.
4. Add small amounts of stock, and wait for the nettles to absorb the liquid, then add more. How much is up to you, and don’t forget to add a couple of slugs of white wine.

Serves: 2 people

Is it a Bullace or a Sloe? The question keeps getting asked. Bullace is half way in size between a Sloe and a Damson. Often mistaken for a Sloe you will know you have a Bullace the moment after the first frost, or your freezer!

Bullace tastes Cherry Plummy after frost, however before the frost they can be pretty indistinguishable from an over sized Sloe. Tart and astringent.

So why Mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris)? Well I simply love it, that’s the only reason and I reckon it will go very well in this recipe if I don’t over steep it. My first finger test is confirming this. You might want to adjust the quantities of honey to suit the sweetness of your tooth.

Ingredients

• 500g Bullace
• 200g wild flower honey
• 5g Mugwort flowers/buds
• 75cl bottle of gin

Suggested Instructions

1. Freeze Bullace for 48 hours, then defrost and mash with a rolling pin in a large jar.
2. Dissolve the honey in a cup of gin by stirring, then pour into the jar with the Bullace, Mugwort and add the rest of the gin bottle.
3. Stir every day for a week, and leave until Christmas… if that’s possible.

Makes: 75cl

OK, eating wild edible snails from your garden and countryside isn’t the usual recipe I put up here, because I usually focus on wild edible plants. Well a few days ago I stumbled across a whole tribe of snails, all various species which I am not even going to go into. Suffice to say that all snails found in England are edible. And I just couldn’t resist. Not for the squeamish…
Ingredients

• Three handfuls of wild garden snails etc.
• Oatmeal
• 4 cloves of garlic (crushed)
• Butter
• Long sewing needle

Suggested Instructions

1. Before cooking your snails you first need to purge them of shit and grit. To do this sprinkle fine oatmeal onto the bottom of a large ice cream box and add your washed snails. Make sure the lid has lots of holes and is well ventilated, because you don’t want your snails to get too hot. Feed them on oatmeal for about 3-4 days, then fast (starve) them for a further two days.
2. Bring a pan of salted water to the boil and drop your snails into it. Bring it back to the boil and simmer for 15 minutes. When done, get a long sewing needle and hike the snails out of their shells.
3. Melt lots of butter and gently sautee the crushed garlic until transparent, then throw in the snail meat and gently fry for 3 minutes.
4. Serve with crusty bread and salad.

Makes: Depends on how many snails you gather!

In this Sea Purslane recipe, the gorgeous flavours of sea purslane, wild fennel seeds, and fresh mackerel merge together to create a fish cake full of seashore tastes. This must-try Sea Purslane recipe will have every seashore lover going back for seconds.

Ingredients

• 2 medium sized Mackerel
• 500g of just boiled potatoes
• 100g Sea Purslane (Halimione portulacoides)
• 15g Kelp
• ½ tsp ground Wild Fennel seeds
• 1 tsp fresh Marjoram
• Plain flour
• Egg (Beaten)
• Oil

Suggested Instructions

1. Boil the potatoes until just done. You don’t want them too watery. Then mash.
2. Grill mackerel until done, then debone and flake, then add to the potato mash.
3. Bring a pan of water to the boil, remove and soak the kelp for 30 minutes, then slice finely and add to mash.
4. Finely chop the raw Sea Purslane, and add to mashed potatoes.
5. Next add the wild fennel seeds, fresh marjoram, beaten egg, and 4 tbsp of plain flour.
6. Form into small cakes no thicker than 2cms, and gently shallow fry for 3-4 minutes on each side in hot oil until browned.

Makes: Makes 8 fish cakes.