Blog Posts

Creamy Courgette Pasta

20/7/2017

As a forager I naturally eat with the seasons, but I have a fussy 5 year old who really suffered in the courgette crisis of January 2017! This is a family favourite that features on the menu at least twice a week, even though my daughter would happily eat it every day. When we cut out dairy from our diets to help my toddlers eczema this was the biggest hurdle to overcome.

Grated courgette tastes so much better than sliced courgette. It tastes fresh and light, with a slight melon hint, and none of that wateriness that put people off. In fact, I don’t think we have ever eaten it sliced since.

This recipe works with most green veg. I sometimes ‘hide’ spinach and leeks in it too. My Facebook feed is currently filled with people asking what to do with their glut of courgettes this summer, so I think I need to share my creation.

Recipe

Serves 4

2 medium White Onions – sliced or diced
2-3 cloves Garlic – grated or crushed
2 medium Courgettes – grated
2 handfuls of Marsh Samphire
250ml Cream (We use Oatly Cream)
½ Nutmeg – grated
1 Lemon – zest, and ½ juice if you want it lemony
Oil
Pasta (The kids like Fusilli)
Cornish Sea Salt

On a low temperature sauté the onions in oil for at least 20 minutes, longer if you can, until translucent and gooey. This is the base for most of my recipes and I really feel the length of time the onions have cooked makes a massive difference.
(Put the pasta on now)
Add the zest of one lemon and freshly grate half a nutmeg. Whole nutmeg has a much deeper and intense flavour, and is available in most supermarkets. Stir and infuse for a couple of minutes.
Grate or crush the garlic into the pan. Stir and infuse for a couple of minutes again, but no longer as garlic burns easily.
Add the juice of half a lemon if you want the dish lemony.
Add the grated courgette. Stir and simmer for a couple of minutes.
Add the cream, marsh samphire, and a couple of pinches of salt and warm through. Use good quality salt. We love Cornish Sea Salt for its sweet, mineral flavour. The salt really brings out the contrast in flavours in this dish, don’t be shy with it!
Add the cooked pasta to the sauce and coat evenly. We add more salt at this point, but taste and check first!

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Why Wait for Wild Garlic?

5/2/2017

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The days are getting longer, despite snow flurries in some parts, winter is losing its grasp. Spring is starting to take hold and around the UK the first shoots of Wild Garlic are emerging. For many this heralds the start of the New Year’s foraging season, a time to brave the chill and gather some tasty wild morsels. I would like to share a little secret with you; whilst many have been staying cosy indoors, hibernating after the glut of Christmas they have been missing out on a plethora of wild edibles that happily brave the elements. Winter is not as barren as you may think!

Hairy Bittercress (Cardamine Hirsute)

During the shortening daylight hours as the leaves fall from the trees you could be harvesting the second flurry of delights like Wall Pennywort (Umbilicus Rupestris) or the delicious but not aptly named Hairy Bittercress (Cardamine Hirsute). Pennywort is fresh and crunchy with hints of beansprout and refreshing cucumber. Hairy Bittercress is not hairy and not bitter, go figure! It has a punchy cress flavour with a mild hint of horseradish. Both add great texture and flavour dimensions to a salad or as a wild garnish.

As autumn rolls into winter many assume this signals the end of the wild mushroom season, this could not be farther from the truth. In fact one fungi in particular can only be found in the months just prior to spring. Late January to early February sees the emergence of the magical looking Scarlet Elf Cup (Sarcoscypha Coccinea). Its appearance screams “don’t eat me” and in fact some fungi books describe this delight as inedible. Lucky for us studies have shown this not to be true. I love this for its firm texture and due to the nature of its shape it is perfect for creating canopies. See my blog post on 7th Rise for my recipe involving three out of four of these wild ingredients.

Scarlet Elf Cup (Sarcoscypha Coccinea)

Finally a plant that I have a love-hate relationship with: if you want an early garlic hit then track down Three Cornered Leek (Allium Triquetrum). As yet it is not found all over the UK because it is a non-native species, but it is also invasive causing a delicious dilemma for foragers. It can be found growing as early as October and overwintering right the way through til spring. Mainly found in southern parts of the UK it can be seen emerging long before our native Wild Garlic (Allium Ursinum). They bear no resemblance to each other but share a similar smell. Three Cornered Leek has long thin triangle shaped stems, whilst Wild Garlic has flat darker green broad leaves. As with Wild Garlic the whole plant can be eaten. To prevent the spread of the invasive Three Cornered Leek you can harvest the flowers to reduce its propagation and they add a splash of contrast in a green salad with a mild, sweet garlic flavour.

Three Cornered Leek (Allium Triquetrum)

There are many more wild delights to be found during the darker months and we have barely scratched the surface. I can’t give away to many secrets on here but please spread the word. For foraging there is no wrong weather, just the wrong perspective. Grasp those few daylight hours, or if your mad like me don a head torch after dark, wrap up and enjoy a year round wild harvest.

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Wild Cocktails - August

26/8/2016

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Hog and Tonic

Aromatic summer hedgerow in a glass, using old prohibition methods for creating a bathtub gin like spirit based drink.

2 sprigs of rock samphire
sprig of wild fennel
6 alexander seeds
6 hogweed seeds
slice of lemon
vodka
ice

Wild Foraged Cocktail: Hogweed, Alexander, Samphire, Fennel, Borage Flowers, Vodka Cocktails

Take the ingredients and bash in a pestle and mortar until the seeds are crushed and the samphire is releasing juice.
Add the vodka, bash, and mix some more, leave to infuse for 10 minutes.
Strain over ice and add tonic water.
Garnish with Borage Flowers.

Wild Foraged Cocktail: Blackberries, Common Sorrel, Basil, Soda, Vodka Cocktails

Blackberry and Sorrel Crush

Fruity sweet and sharp drink, like slushy for grownups

a small handful of blackberries
6 large common sorrel leaves
sprig of basil
vodka
sugar
soda
ice

In a sturdy glass (not a thin wine glass) muddle/bash the fruit, sorrel and sugar.
Add vodka and crushed ice, muddle some more.
Add soda, stir and serve.

Ginger Fun-Guy

parasol mushroom infused bourbon
Fentimans ginger beer
orange slice
ice

Pour the whisky over ice, top up the glass with ginger beer and stir. (In my quest for the best ginger beer so far the botanically brewed Fentimans is easily the best)
Lightly char the outside of the orange slice with a match or lighter, to save your fingers from burning, pierce and hold the slice with a cocktail stick. Squeeze the slice over the drink and drop in.

Wild Foraged Cocktail: Parasol Mushroom Infused Bourbon Whisky, Fentimans Ginger Beer, Orange Cocktails

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Dynamite Valley Pop Up

28/2/2016

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We are collaborating with the awesome Dynamite Valley to make an epic event for St Piran's Day. Come visit us at their brewery in Ponsanooth from noon on Saturday 5th March.

This is Cornish Wild Food's first pop up of 2016, with Stuart Woodman from Woodman's Wild Walks. Every recipe is made from scratch including the bread, sausages, and sauces. Get your game on with Wild Boar 'Hog Dogs' and Venison in Big Vern's Smoky Sauce. Our new Black Bean Burger is suitable for both vegans and vegetarians.

Cornish Wild Food Dynamite Valley Brewery Ponsanooth

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Forward>>

Creamy Courgette Pasta

Recipe

﻿Why Wait for Wild Garlic?

Wild Cocktails - August

Hog and Tonic

Blackberry and Sorrel Crush

Ginger Fun-Guy

Dynamite Valley Pop Up

Categories

Why Wait for Wild Garlic?