Just finished eating a wild sea beet & sorrel houmous with raw sprouted chickpeas and tahini, combined with ground cumin, olive oil and tamari.

Ash Keys (Fraxinus excelsior) provide a unique taste sensation. If you’re into Slow Food then this is certainly a slow recipe as it takes three months before you can indulge your taste buds.

One thing to make sure is that you pick your Ash Keys when they are very young, and the small seed within the ‘wing’ has barely developed. You can see the seed if you hold the Ash Key up to the sunlight.

Ingredients

• 2 cups of Ash Keys without stalks
• 1 tsp ground cloves
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 4 bay leaves
• 8 peppercorns
• 1 tsp allspice
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp salt
• 3 tbsp brown sugar
• 2 cups cider vinegar
• water

Suggested Instructions

1. Wash your Ash Keys, then place in a pan covered with cold water and bring to the boil. Simmer for 5 minutes.
2. Strain off the water and return to the pan with some fresh water, then bring back to boil and simmer a further 5 minutes.
3. Drain off the water again, allow to ‘dry’ slightly and then pack into warm dry jars, but allow an inch of space from the top of the jar.
4. Put the spices, salt and sugar into a bowl and add the vinegar.
5. Put the bowl into a saucepan (cover it), add some water (not to the bowl but just into the pan) and bring slowly to the boil. I’ve never been very good at this so my one splutters and bubbles furiously, even when its on simmer. I’m sure there’s some scientific reason, but as I failed miserably at science I don’t have an answer. Allow to gently boil for about 5 minutes, then remove the bowl and let it sit for about 4 hours or until it is cold.
6. Strain the liquid through a muslin or sieve into a jug and pour over the Ash Keys filling the jars right to the brim.
7. Screw on the tops or better yet use the kind of jars I have in the picture above.
8. Store for 3 months and let the pickle ‘mature’.
9. Give your friends a shock when you serve this up as an after dinner treat, along with some fine cheese.

If you love houmous and love Wild Garlic (Allium ursinum), then you have got to try this Raw Wild Garlic Houmous Recipe. It will have you purring with delight.

Ingredients

• 12 oz of sprouted chickpeas
• two -three handfuls of sunflower seeds that have been soaked overnight
• 1 small dried chilli ground up
• 1/2 tsp of ground cumin
• shredded Wild Garlic (adjust to your own taste preference)
• 2-3 tbsp tahini
• glugs of olive oil
• lemon juice
• salt and pepper

Suggested Instructions

1. Process the Wild Garlic leaves in a food processor.
2. Then add the sprouted chickpeas, soaked sunflower seeds along with the chilli, cumin, tahini and process until smooth.
3. Finally add in the lemon juice and a few glugs of olive oil, along with some salt and pepper.
4. Voila! Enjoy with crudites or some warmed wholemeal pitta or an artisan bread.

The following Nettle Beer recipe was created by Maude Grieve back in the 1930’s. Maude was a Fellow of the Royal Horticultural Society, as well as an extremely respected herbalist with an encyclopedic knowledge of medicinal plants.

During the First World War she wrote and published pamphlets on the cultivation and uses of herbal medicines. It is these pamphlets that went to make up her Magnum Opus “A Modern Herbal”. It is from her book that this Nettle Beer recipe comes from.

Don’t expect anything alcoholic or ‘sweet’, as this Nettle Beer recipe produces a drink that is dry and crisp, yet extremely refreshing. Most of my friends that I tried it on liked it, and found it an unusual drink. Some friends simply didn’t get on with it at all.

Personally I liked it, and have used it in a Road Kill Venison casserole that was cooked up over an open fire along with numerous wild edible plants. A good time was had by all.

So if you are looking for a low-alcoholic refreshing Springtime beverage, then this Nettle Beer recipe might just be the ticket. Or if you leave it mature, then you can drink over the Summer.

Ingredients

• 2 gallons of cold water
• a bucket of nettle tops
• 3 handfuls of dandelion leaves
• 3 handfuls of cleavers
• 2oz of fresh (bruised) ginger root
• 2 cups of brown sugar
• 1 slice of toasted brown bread
• 1oz fresh yeast
• 3 tsps of cream of tartar or 9 teaspoons of lemon juice

Suggested Instructions

1. Add 2 gallons of cold water to a large pan. I use my jam making pail.
2. Add the Nettles, Dandelion leaves, and Cleavers.
3. Next bruise the ginger and put in the water along with the other ingredients.
4. Bring the water to the boil and allow to simmer for 40 minutes, then strain and stir in 2 cupfuls of brown sugar.
5. When the water has cooled and is lukewarm, crumble the yeast into a dish and mix in a little water and a teaspoon of sugar to form a paste, then spread on the toast and then place the toast on top of the beer. (Fresh yeast is available from bakeries and health stores).
6. Put your pail in a warm corner and allow to sit overnight, then strain through muslin and add either the cream of tartar or lemon juice.
7. Bottle and tie securely. You can drink this pretty much immediately or leave it to ‘mature’ till the Summer.

I try and eat as much of my wild edible plants in their raw state as possible. In this wonderful raw soup recipe, the vibrant flavour of Ground Elder (Aegopodium podagraria) goes perfectly with the Nettles (Urtica dioica).

Ingredients

• 1 handful of Ground Elder leaves
• 10 Nettle tops
• 4 medium sized tomatoes
• 1 glug of olive oil
• salt and pepper

Suggested Instructions

1. Wash the Ground Elder leaves and Stinging Nettles.
2. Chop the tomatoes.
3. Put the Ground Elder leaves, Nettles and chopped tomatoes into a blender.
4. Add a glug of olive oil.
5. Now blend for about 3 minutes until smooth.
6. If the mixture is too thick, add a little water until you have desired consistency.
7. Add salt and pepper if you like. I prefer to not season this soup that much in order for the plant flavours to come out on their own.

Serves: 1 person

Most people often think of soup when they talk about Stinging Nettles (Urtica dioica). For those of you that have been going on at me to give you a Nettle soup recipe, here it is.

Nettles have often been seen as the food of peasants. Nothing wrong with that says I. So enjoy this gorgeous, rich green Nettle soup that just bursts with nutrition.

For all Noble Peasants everywhere.

Ingredients

• 4 garlic cloves (crushed)
• 40 nettle tops
• 500 ml of vegetable stock
• 8 oz cooked potatoes
• 1 glug of vegetable oil

Suggested Instructions

1. Cook the potatoes until soft.
2. Wash and roughly chop the Nettles.
3. Heat oil in pan.
4. Add the crushed garlic, and fry for 30 seconds.
5. Now add the chopped Nettles, stock and chopped potatoes.
6. Bring to the boil and simmer for about 10 minutes.
7. Blend and serve.

Serves: 2 people

Juicing raw plants is one of the quickest ways to introduce nourishing nutrition into your body. This power-packed raw juice recipe made from Stinging Nettles (Urtica dioica), Carrots and Apples is the perfect get-up-and-go wild food drink first thing in the morning.

Nettles provide lots of sustaining energy, and also suppress the desire for food.

• 6 stinging nettle stems, leaves, stalks and all.
• 4 carrots
• 2 apples

Suggested Instructions

1. Power up your juice extractor.
2. Bend the Stinging Nettles in half and push through the juicer.
3. Next juice the Carrots and Apples.
4. Stir and serve.

Serves: 2 people

In this simple wild food recipe, I combine Lady’s Smock with Three Cornered Leek and tomatoes for a quick and easy side-salad.

Lady’s Smock (Cardamine pratensis), also known as Cuckooflower, is one of my favourite edible wild flowers. Delicate and beautiful I never really use much as it’s not that prolific. It packs a punch though with a fiery taste similar to a strong mustard.

Three Cornered Leek (Allium triquetrum) is coming to the end where I live. It’s part of the Lily family and is great used in salads, as it imparts a mild garlicky onion flavour. A perfect replacement to mono-cultured spring onions that are so ubiquitous in British salads!

• 2 good handfuls of Three Cornered Leek
• a few sprigs of Lady’s Smock
• 3 large, ripe tomatoes
• a good glug of olive oil
• balsamic vinegar
• sea salt
• black pepper

Suggested Instructions

1. Pick the fern like leaves from the stalk of Lady’s Smock and put in a salad bowl, along with the flowers.
2. Chop up the Three Cornered Leek and add.
3. Chop the tomatoes and add.
4. Pour a good glug of olive oil onto the salad.
5. Add enough balsamic vinegar to satisfy your desired taste.
6. Add a pinch of sea salt and pepper.
7. Serve with a good artisan bread, or as an accompaniment to your main meal.

Ground Elder (Aegopodium podagraria) is a current staple wild food for my family at the moment. It’s prolific, and well worth harvesting. Try this quick vegetarian recipe, that I rustled up last night.

• 2 good handfuls of ground elder leaves (stalks removed)
• 1 block of thawed tempeh
• 3 good glugs of olive oil
• 1/4 cup of brown rice vinegar
• 2 tablespoons of tamari
• 2 crushed garlic cloves
• 1 red pepper
• a handful of chopped black olives

Suggested Instructions

1. Cube the tempeh into small pieces.
2. Combine the tempeh with the olive oil, brown rice vinegar, tamari and garlic and let sit for 3-10 hours (preferably stirring every hour). If you work away from home, cover the marinade and let it sit all day in the fridge.
3. Turn the oven hob to high, and using a frying pan, quickly fry the tempeh and marinade mix until browned.
4. Turn the heat down to mid-low, and add the red pepper and chopped black olives. Fry until the red pepper is cooked.
5. About 5 minutes before serving, add the chopped Ground Elder and stir continuously until it looks like wilted spinach.
6. Serve with accompanying vegetables of your choice.

Pickled Alexanders Buds have a heavily-scented flavour, unlike anything you have most probably tried.

Alexanders (Smyrnium olusatrum) are an ancient food source that goes back to Roman Times, and this is one of those recipes that you either love or it doesn’t do much for you. Personally I love pickled Alexanders buds with a strong, hard cheese, and it is rumoured to go rather well with fish.

• 500ml of Alexanders Buds
• 25g of salt
• 25g of fresh ginger
• 300ml of white wine vinegar

Step 1

Collect 500ml of Alexanders buds, and blanch them for 10 seconds in boiling water. Strain off and allow to cool.

Step 2

Peel and thinly slice the fresh ginger.

Step 3

Fill a sterilised jar with the Alexander buds and sliced ginger. Now pour over cold vinegar and seal.

You can start eating this recipe after three days.