Simple and delicious (wild) onion-flavoured water biscuits. Serve with cheese or just plain on their own. I made these for a group of school children who loved them (phew!). They ate them plain and with wild herb butter on. This recipe uses three-cornered leek (Allium triquetrium), but you could use any of the wild garlic […]
I don't mind what you call it. In Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly this plant is often called wild garlic. Those who call it this know what they mean. They know they're talking about the onion grass, the long, thin one that smells of garlic. In Australia and New Zealand it's known as onion […]
Here in West Cornwall, Three-cornered leek (Allium triquetrium) is considered an invasive; an unwanted weed that is hard to get rid of. My solution: Eat it! Three-cornered leek is mild, sweet, onion-y flavour and is one of the plants I call spring medicine. Here I offer a simple recipe and tips to make sure your […]
Spring has been creeping in, in some places slowly, and other places fast. The telling signs of birds carrying nesting material, lighter mornings and the fresh green plant life in the landscape all help us soften and brighten as Winter is left behind. If you’re reading this in the UK and wondering what I’m taking […]
This simple, vegan Salsa Verde recipe uses four different wild greens that grow here in Cornwall. They are spring greens that you can also find in Southern Europe and coastal areas. The four wild greens I use for this recipe may surprise you, they surprised me! The first and main ingredient are the leaves and […]
Oooh! I'm hooked on making stuffing at the moment. This version has a slightly perfumed, cumin-like addition from the wild carrot seeds. It also incorporates further seasonal wild greens available here in Cornwall in winter. So if you're looking for a different twist on stuffing read on... Wild carrot seeds is one of the wild […]
Can you tell which one of these plants is edible and which is poisonous? In this blog I explore potential mistakes with white bell flowers and flowering three-cornered leek, touch on why it is important to get it right and a true story to remind you to check what you're picking! Spring Foraging Spring is […]
These are quite a rustic version of wild nettle pakoras and are very simple to make, you can use many different wild greens if you like. I had three cornered leek to hand, rather than wild garlic, or you could use a clove of cultivated garlic. I've also learnt a few things while making these […]
It’s a fresh winter morning and I am sitting watching the sky lighten and the day begin. I am just sitting, doing nothing, while the day is offering nothing less than a performance. Blue sky starts to peek through, charcoal grey clouds move slowly in front of me, then disintegrate. White gulls glide elegantly past, […]
Testimonials Hi Rachel many thanks for the foraging course last Wednesday, we really enjoyed it and Dave and the boys have already been back to forage bladder rack, Irish moss and pepper dulce and made some soup! He cooked and added it to a carrot based soup! - all made up! Cathy, Cornwall Just wanted […]
Lapping waves, sweet smelling hedgerows, and glorious walks and forays in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly were the inspiration for writing my first book; Wild Food Foraging in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. Which does what is says in the title. Something worth sharing, I thought, something regional, specific and practical for […]
Back in spring 2021 I walked along the coastal path in West Cornwall with Karen Pirie. The particular area we walked through is known as the Tin Coast and goes from Pendeen to St Just. This is an area just 6 miles from my home and a stretch of coastline that I know well. I […]
I've had such fun experimenting with edible violets! Their colour and aroma are a delight, if not a little elusive to pin down! So I thought I'd share my best Dozen Recipes for using Violets for sweet and savoury, complete with notes on colour and flavour. Most of the recipes I share here use sweet […]
I'm preparing for the Christmas, festive, wintery season and making stuffing is on my mind. Warming, herby stuffing to accompany roasted meats. Or perhaps tweaking it to make almost a meal in itself for vegans and vegetarians. Wild herbs such as ground ivy and mugwort are perfect for stuffing and I'm really pleased with the […]
Spring is full of wild ingredients that are perfect for adding into, oh so many different recipes. Farinata - a savoury bake made out of chickpea flour - is a great carrier for these spring wilds. Like an omelette, though egg-less, baked in the oven and extremely tasty, it happens to be vegan and gluten-free […]
Here in Cornwall, three-cornered leek (allium triquetrium) is often called wild garlic. I don't have a problem with that. I enjoy local names, to me, I associate it with locals taking ownership of the plants, land and so-called weeds surrounding them and I see that as a good thing. (Allium triquetrium has long, thin leaves […]
The Romans valued the plant Alexanders (Smyrnium olusatrum) highly and brought it over with them to the British Isles almost 2,000 years ago to use as a pot herb. It was used widely before celery came into fashion (has celery really been in fashion?!). Celery has been mentioned as early as 1700s as a food […]
I'm often asked what my favourite time to forage is, well spring is fantastic, though honestly, winter is becoming an increasingly wonderful time to forage. The quiet, the abundance of plants and the unexpected joys of finding food (not in the supermarket) this time of year. On January 2nd myself and a small […]
Sea Spinach soup is a simple, delicious soup which celebrates this wonderful wild green. Creamy, filling and even dairy-free, perfect for a fresh, early spring al fresco lunch, or an autumnal or winter trip out along the coast, with a flask of tasty hot soup. Spring is here and it is undeniably the time for […]
It's deep December and I'm standing outside. Actually, there's 8 of us standing outside and waiting for the one that's gone astray. Once we're all congregated, we begin. There's something innately quiet about walking in Winter, as if all around us is sleeping, and in some ways it is. We walk together through this slumbering […]
Unique Island Foraging Really, like nowhere else. Sudi Pigott, food journalist and author compared Gourmet Foraging and Dining on Scilly to an experience at Noma - Rene Redzepi's Copenhagen restaurant, which, at least twice has won best restaurant in the world awards (S. Pellegrino 50). Noma specialises in using foraged and seasonal produce and has […]