Foraging

Recently i helped cook at a Permaculture event hosted by Miles Irving, master forager. I haven't got much experience foraging and learnt about some interesting ingredients that grow unbeknown in urban oasis's around London. My favourite was the Blackthorn syrup, which had a subtle almond-like flavour with a touch of orange and cinnamon.

Heres some photo's and recipe's from the night:

Wild food Festival Recipes

Dandilion Pie:

Pastry

250g fine plain flour

50g Chestnut flour

200g Unsalted butter in small cubes

Pinch of salt

4-6 tablespoons of water

1 egg yolk for glazing

Filing

500g dandelion leaves

Bicarb of soda

6 tbsp of olive oil

3 garlic cloves finely chopped

1 fresh red chilly, finely chopped

3 pickled walnuts finely chopped

3 tbsp raisins roughly chopped

1 tbsp of capers roughly chopped

200g feta

Blend dandelions as finely as possible with 500mls of water and ¼ teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda. Simmer for 15 mins and then strain through sieve or muslin squeezing out as much liquid as possible. Fry with other ingredients until some of the moisture is removed. 

Roll out pastry to 3mm thickness. Line pie dish. Add mixture and top with 200g of crumbled feta, put lip on and pinch together with base then glaze with 1 egg yolk.

Cook 200degrees, gas mark 6 for 25-30mins

Wild autumn salad

Wild sorrel and wild baby yarrow leaves from hamstead heath

Chickweed from organic lea

Wild girolles mushrooms

Dressing

Meadowsweet vinager

Olive oil 

Baked beetroot with Mellilot

Batches of 500g of beetroot, cut into sizes of smallest beet, on tinfoil large enough to make an airtight parcel. Add splash of vinager, salt, pepper and rounded desert spoon of melilot. Seal parcels and place in oven 150degrees for 1 hour. Peel once cool.

Boiled eggs with drizzled nettle

Blitz tender tips of raw nettles with garlic, salt pepper and olive oil – to taste.

Peel boiled eggs, cut in half and drizzle nettle dressing  

Fruit fool

Bake 500g blackberries with the juice and zest of 2 lemons and of 50ml of blackthorn syrup.

Cook 750g of damsons with 50ml of blackthorn syrup and a little sugar to taste. Combine the two and reduce until thick.

Spoon into a glass and top with whipped double cream, reduced blackthorn syrup and a wild fennel biscuit.

Fennel tartlets

55g fennel seeds

500kg plain flour

15g baking yeast

125g softened unsalted butter

100g icing sugar

125ml olive oil

50ml Sambuca liquor

100ml milk

2 egg yolks beaten

100g granulated sugar

55g chopped almonds

Mix flour, yeast, butter and icing sugar. Add olive oil, milk and stir into a smooth dough. Add the Sambuca and fennel seeds and knead well together. Allow to rest for 30mins.

On floured surface, roll out the dough into 3mm thickness, and then cut out 10cm circles. Brush with egg yolk, sprinkle with sugar and almonds and bake in preheated oven for 8-9mins till golden.