Wild Cooking with Foraged Foods
As regular readers will already know, I adore foraging. There’s something special about going out into the land and finding food. It doesn’t get any fresher. There’s a weird stigma about eating foraged foods, it’s like people can’t get their heads around it. My family have eaten foraged greens more than once and have not known! And if they had I can almost guarantee they wouldn’t have eaten them! I also think that people are just unsure about how to prepare and cook foraged foods. Berries and fruit aren’t a problem, for the most part you can just eat them as you find them. Plums are so good fresh from the tree, sun warmed and bursting with sweetness! As July comes to an end and August is about to begin, it is the perfect time to get out there and find some tasty treats. Here then are some ideas on what to do with your foraged finds.
Dandelions —
All parts of this plant is edible. The flowers can be battered and deep-fried or made into a tea but I must confess, the tea isn’t a favourite of mine. Make a light batter and fry until they are a golden colour, sprinkling with icing or confectioners sugar when they are fresh from the oil. For something a little more savoury, add salt and pepper to your batter mix. I really enjoyed the stalks and the stems chopped and sautéed in butter with garlic (use your wild garlic leaves if you’ve been lucky enough to find some) and onion. You can also add them to dishes such as omelettes or salads. The leaves can also be lightly steamed and added to meals as you would other leafy greens.
Sheep Sorrel —
Often found in grass lands, this often overlooked weed is easily identifiable with its rusty red flowers clustered together. It is very tasty simply tossed in a salad. If you want, you can lightly steam with other wild greens but I must admit I enjoy them most in salad.
Stinging nettles —
Be careful when handling these! The young leaves can be wilted or lightly steamed, or again, sautéed with onions and garlic. Nettle soup is tasty and healthy. Simply heat some oil over a medium heat and add onion and garlic, cooking until soft. Next add stock and any vegetables you like along with the nettle leaves and simmer until the vegetables are soft.
Nuts —
Of course these can be eaten straight from the tree as a tasty snack. With hazelnuts and sweet chestnuts though I love to pan roast these with a little butter adding salt and pepper to taste. You can also roast them in their shells in a hot oven or even wrap them in foil and place in the embers of a low fire. I love to do this when camping, the perfect way to end an evening!
Flowers —
Many flowers can be eaten as they are fresh or are often added to baked goods as edible decorations. There are so many more things you can do with them though. They can be used to flavour wines as with elder flower wine (one of my favourites!). Simply place the elder flowers in a pan of water and fill with water so that they are just covered. Bring to the boil and allow to simmer for around half an hour. Strain the liquid into a clean pan and top up with fresh water until you have around 2 litres of water. Now add the sugar (roughly 1 kg per litre and a half of liquid but this will depend on your own personal tastes and may require a little experimentation). When the sugar has dissolved, place the liquid into a demijohn and add a sachet of dried yeast (you can use wine making yeast though I use the ordinary stuff from my cupboard. I’ve tried both and can say I haven’t noticed any difference in taste). Seal with an airlock and voilà. You should notice a foam to begin to form shortly after and the mixture should bubble away for weeks. When it has stopped bubbling, siphon into a clean bottle and leave to stand. Syphon at least twice more to remove any sediment and there you have it, home-made wine!
Soft drinks can also be made using flowers. Simply follow the same steps as when making wine but do not add yeast. You can add more sugar to make a cordial and this will also help preserve them. Elder flower cordial is a favourite of mine. Use fruit juice to make cordials as well. You can simply juice fruits such as apples but for berries, place in a pan and cover with water and simmer, pressing the fruit with the back of a large spoon to get as much of the juice from the fruit as possible. Strain into a clean pan and add sugar, stirring until the sugar has dissolved.
I also like to infuse honey with flowers such as violets, roses and lavender. Simply place in a jar and cover with honey. Leave for around a week and then strain into a clean jar.
Flavoured sugars are also a good way of using up any foraged flowers. Grind or shred the flowers and add to normal granulated sugar, mixing thoroughly. Spread out on baking parchment and allow to dry before loosening the grains up and placing in a clean jar. You can use these sugars in baking, over cereals and in drinks.
Rosehips and haws —
Use these super berries to make jams and jellies in the same way you would ordinary fruit jams and jellies. Remove the seed and use the flesh. They are particularly good when paired with apples including crab apples. Prepare the fruit by removing the seeds before peeling and chopping the flesh. Use equal parts fruit and sugar and place in a pan with a little water. Heat slowly until the sugar has dissolved and allow to simmer for around half an hour or until the liquid has reduced by half. Make sure you stir often so as to avoid ruining your pans.
Barks and pine needles can also be eaten or used to make drinks, though when using pine needles make sure to choose a variety that isn’t poisonous and young shoots are best used. To make drinks simply boil in a pan of water and sweeten to taste. Barks can be eaten and should be boiled to soften before frying in oil or fat. Barks can also be ground to make flour.
There is so much around at this time of year, more than I could possibly hope to include in one article and I cannot stress how much you’d benefit from getting to know what grows where you live. As always, take care to only take what you need and enjoy!
EMMA KATHRYN
My name is Emma Kathryn, my path is a mixture of traditional British witchcraft, Vodou and Obeah, a mixture representing my heritage. I live in the sticks with my family where I read tarot, practice witchcraft and drink copious amounts of coffee.
You can follow Emma on Facebook.