Rock Samphire Salsa Verde
'You just have to try that green stuff' (participant on a foraging course)
Luscious wild greens; Rock Samphire (Crithmum maritimum) makes the perfect base for a Salsa Verde (green sauce) and it tastes so great that hardly anything else needs to be added.
Over the years my version of this Rock Samphire Salsa Verde has got simpler, depending on what other ingredients I have to hand, who I'm cooking for and my confidence of allowing this wonderful flavour to dominate, rather than plumping it up with other herbs. Gone is the parsley, the mint, the fennel (this plant is also, confusingly, sometimes known as Sea Fennel), it is even good without lemon added.
Late spring or early summer is perfect for picking Rock Samphire, you can also get away with it in late summer if you only pick the young fronds and avoid the flowing stems. This is wonderful beach food and goes perfectly on fresh bread, or served with fish, or even mixed in with pasta or rice. It lasts well, and lifts many dishes. Here's my version with a few options too.
(Cooked Rock Samphire ready for the chop)
(The ingredients ready to mix, here I use shallots instead of spring onions)
ROCK SAMPHIRE SALSA VERDE
Ingredients
85 g Rock Samphire
3-4 Spring Onions
1 dessert spoon Capers
1 tsp vinegar
1-2 tbsp Olive oil
1 tbsp Lemon (optional)
Salt and Pepper (to taste)
2 Anchovies (optional)
Wash the samphire and cook in a small amount of water for 2-3 minutes in a lidded saucepan. The water doesn't need to cover the samphire, as it will reduce and cook in its own steam. Remove from the pan and allow to cool. Meanwhile finely slice the spring onions and chop the capers. When the samphire is cool enough to handle, finely chop it and mix in a bowl along with the onions, capers, vinegar, oil and salt and pepper. Add the lemon if using, and finely chop the anchovies and mix in thoroughly. That's it! Taste and adjust if needed.
Foraging courses are run throughout the year and most are on or include the coastal path and coastal plants such as; Rock Samphire. I also mention it here as part of my walking the South West Coast Path.
This recipe is also available in my book: Wild Food Foraging in Devon alongside 17 more wild foods and 29 recipes from the Devonshire countryside.
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Tags: Coastal Plants, Crithmum maritimum, Foraging, Quick Beach Food, Rock Samphire, Sea Fennel, Wild Salsa Verde
[…] black pepper with its heat and a little added bitterness. I like to enjoy alexander-seed bread with Rock Samphire Salsa Verde, or with wild seaweed dips or just on its own with olive […]
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[…] a look at my Rock Samphire Salsa Verde recipe, or I cook it simply in my Wild Food Foraging book. If you’d like to keep up to date with […]
[…] The song is in its early stages, open to having information added over time, about the same plant or additional ones (we currently have a Sea Spinach verse as well). I also share a popular recipe for Rock Samphire here; Rock Samphire Salsa Verde. […]
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[…] Mint is one of the wild edible plants I teach on summer foraging courses and it is also a herb I sometimes add to my wild salsa verde recipe. […]
[…] Serve with sorrel and yoghurt dip (in my book Wild Food Foraging...) or for a vegan alternative, try with Rock Samphire salsa verde. […]
[…] hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed creating it. Additional recipes featured are; Rock Samphire salsa verde, Sorrel butter and Blackberry seeded […]