Sea Aster (Aster tripolium) makes an ideal bedfellow with any line caught white fish. This dish can be made in advance and baked when needed. Serve with a salad or cooked green vegetable. [Read more…]
The stems of the Alexanders (Smyrnium olusatrum) goes really well with the cheese and potato filling. You can either make your own flaky pastry, I use 200g strong plain flour to 150g butter; or buy one ready-made, but do try to ensure it is made with butter. Shaping the pasties this way means there is no wastage, rather than cutting out unnecessary circles. [Read more…]
In Russia Hogweed’s (Heracleum sphondylium) old name was “borschevnic”. The soup was originally made using lacto-fermented hogweed. In Poland both the soup and plant are called “barscz” and by the end of the nineteenth century this had evolved to mean a soup with beetroot as the main ingredient. In Romania the sharp lacto-fermented liquid is called borsch and is used like stock and added to soups. [Read more…]
This Nettle Soup recipe is not set in stone and is a great way of using up leftovers lurking in the fridge. It offers a really easy lunch and brightens up one of those wild windy autumn or winter days with heat and earthy goodness. Another plus side, it is ready in 10 minutes and only uses one pan. [Read more…]
For this Burdock Root recipe you can use either the roots of Greater Burdock (Arctium lappa) or Lesser Burdock (Arctium minus).
The Burdock Root can be roasted with other vegetables at the same time. They offer a taste similar to parsnips which complements the crispy coating. The picture shows a rather measly presentation. There were considerably more, but suffered depletion due to human consumption before the camera was found! [Read more…]
This Pine Needle (Pinaceae) recipe makes a wonderful alternative to Balsamic Vinegar. Deeply scented, Pine vinegar can be used in salad dressings, as a hot drink to help ward off seasonal colds. It goes well with fish when added to sauces etc. [Read more…]
Although Nasturtium (Tropaeolum majus) is not exactly a ‘wild food’ it does come to the foragers attention because it grows so prolifically, oftentimes bursting out of gardens and onto banks as it makes its escape to the wild. [Read more…]
The combination of Hairy Bittercress’s (Cardamine hirsuta) earthy flavours with the sweet, salt and acidic dressing and the vivid contrast of colours makes a wonderful Autumnal warm salad. [Read more…]
Horseradish leaf (Armoracia rusticana) makes a wonderful green vegetable, and raw it can taste very hot, however once cooked the hotness disappears. Cooked Horseradish leaf has a wonderful texture and flavour and goes perfectly as a cabbage substitute in Bubble & Squeak. [Read more…]
This morning a group of us went on a Wild Edible Mushroom Forage in Sidmouth. Unfortunately due to the dry, hot weather conditions recently (which mushrooms don’t like) we didn’t find that many edible mushrooms, mainly Porcelain Fungus and Winter Chanterrelles. But a good time was had by all and everyone learned lots. [Read more…]
