There are a few items that even the most inexperienced forager can’t go wrong with. Blackberries should need no introduction to anyone: the most urban of urban dwellers should have encountered them along roadside fences, on waste ground or the edges of building sites, or even taking root in small back gardens. They provide late-summer fruit to eat with cream or ice cream, or to make into pies. Other reliable foraged foods include elderflowers, wild garlic and bilberries. The latter two require a trip to the right kinds of location, which, happily, are the kinds of places one might like to use as a base for camping or a walk. (For more detailed descriptions, and many more suggestions of plants to collect and use, see Wild Food by Jane Eastoe).
Bilberries (Vaccinium myrtillus), also known as blaeberries or whortleberries, grow on acid moorland soils, especially in Wales, the Welsh Marches and Derbyshire northwards. They form small bushes with tiny oval leaves that vary in colour from bright green to red, depending on the soil and the weather. The berries are ripe from early July to mid August, and are small and dark, sometimes with a pale-blue bloom. On sight, most people would recognise them as being similar to the cultivated blueberries widely available in shops (they are related). Picking large amounts needs patience, although they make worthwhile pies and jams, and an excellent summer pudding. Take a picnic, sunscreen and a hat, and be prepared to spend half a day on the moors and to come home with purple fingers. A handful can be gathered relatively fast, however, to go with ice cream, or with the thick pancakes.
Elderflowers from elder trees or bushes (Sambucus nigra) grow in hedges, on waste ground and squeeze into even the tiniest nooks and crannies of urban space. They bear masses of creamy-white flowers in umbels in June, with a pleasing musky perfume. Once picked, this quickly becomes less pleasant, so gather them just before needed, and don’t carry them in a plastic bag, which also affects the flavour. Use them in the pancake recipe.
Wild garlic (Allium ursinium), also known as ransoms, grows in shady, damp woodland. The leaves appear around mid March. They are long, pointed, dark green and glossy, with a pungent, onion-garlic scent. In May they produce clusters of little star-shaped white flowers on the end of long stems with a triangular cross-section. There are a couple of plants that can be mistaken for wild garlic, so it’s important to use a field guide if you are new to collecting them. A handful of leaves can be gathered in seconds, and will be sufficient for a dish for 2–4 people. Take only the amount you need. Wash it well, before use. The leaves can be stored for several days between layers of damp kitchen paper in a plastic box in the fridge.
Serves 2–4
100g plain flour
45g caster sugar
a pinch of salt
160g full-fat natural yogurt
1 medium egg
butter or oil, for greasing
1 teaspoon baking powder
butter, syrup, sugar, berries, to serve
These are based on a Welsh recipe for a kind of small crumpet or pikelet, which I discovered while researching The Farmhouse Cookbook. They are a little like American pancakes and are good with bacon, on their own with salty butter, or sweet, with some caster sugar and fruit.
For camping, the batter can be made in advance and carried in a jar, jug, or zip-type bag. Take the baking powder separately and add just before cooking. You will need a frying pan or griddle plate, a tablespoon or ladle and a spatula – or at least, a knife you can slide under the cakes to turn them, and a heat source. A cup, small bowl or empty yogurt pot to mix the baking powder and water are helpful, though this could be done carefully in the bowl of a ladle or large spoon.
Put the flour in a bowl and add the sugar, salt, yogurt and egg, then beat to make a smooth batter – this can be using a blender at home, or take a bowl and do it by hand on site.
When ready to cook, heat a frying pan or griddle and grease it lightly. Combine the baking powder with 1 tablespoon water and immediately stir it into the pancake batter, mixing well.
Drop large tablespoonfuls, or small ladlefuls, of the batter onto the hot surface of the pan. They should spread a little (encourage this with the back of the spoon or ladle). Leave to cook gently until the undersides are golden brown and the tops are starting to develop small holes, then flip them over and cook until golden on the other side. Serve as soon as possible.
Makes about 12 small pancakes
2 medium eggs
200g ricotta cheese
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
2 tablespoons sugar
30g butter, melted
90g plain flour
a little brandy or grappa (optional)
about 6 heads of elderflowers, gathered just before cooking
sunflower oil or other neutral oil, for frying
caster or granulated sugar, and sliced strawberries (optional), to serve
Forage a few heads of elderflowers to make this delicious snack or dessert in early summer. The ricotta batter can be mixed 24–36 hours in advance and stored in a cool place (carry it in a zip-type bag for camping). The elderflowers must be picked and added at the last minute. When picking the flowers avoid those growing near roads or any that have insect infestations. A couple of teaspoons of brandy or grappa are a good addition to the batter but not always available in a camping situation.
I prefer to cook these in an ordinary frying pan with about 5mm oil in it – this gives a lovely crisp exterior to the cakes – but they can be made with a minimal amount of fat in a non-stick saucepan if you like. If the elderflowers are over, make the little pancakes without them and eat with strawberries, raspberries or blackberries.
Break the eggs into a bowl and add the ricotta, lemon zest, sugar and butter. Mix very well, then add the flour and stir again. Stir in the brandy, if using.
When you want to cook the pancakes, strip the flowers off the elderflower heads, trying not to get many of the little stalks into the mixture. Stir into the batter gently.
Pour enough oil into the frying pan to just cover the base, and heat carefully on a camping stove or fire. Drop in tablespoonfuls of the batter, flattening each one gently. Cook until golden brown underneath, then flip over and cook the other side until golden. Dredge with sugar, add a few strawberries, and eat hot.
For camping, the batter can be made up to 2 days in advance, provided it is kept cool. Carry in a zip-type bag and add the elderflowers just before cooking for best results.
Serves 1
a knob of butter
3–6 wild garlic leaves, depending on size
2 medium eggs
½ teaspoon salt
ground black pepper
There is something nice about the idea of gathering a few leaves and using them straight away, and this simple recipe makes the most of the garlic flavour. Bread is good for mopping up the juices, and if you want a more substantial meal, some smoked trout is a good accompaniment.
Melt the butter slowly in a frying pan. Tear the garlic leaves into shreds, then add to the pan and cook gently for 2 minutes or until they wilt. Beat the eggs with the salt and a little pepper and pour into the garlic and butter mixture to cook.
Serve immediately.
Makes about 130g
30g hazelnuts
25g wild garlic leaves
25g parsley
½ teaspoon salt
30g mature Cheddar cheese, finely grated
40ml extra virgin olive or rapeseed oil
Take some wild garlic leaves home and make this alternative to the more usual basil-based pesto. It is good with eggs, or with barbecued fish.
Preheat the oven to 160ºC. Put the hazelnuts on a baking tray and toast in the oven for 10–15 minutes until pale gold, shaking the tray occasionally. Put the hazelnuts in a in a clean tea towel and rub off the skins.
Put the nuts, wild garlic leaves, parsley and salt in a blender and reduce to a paste. Add the cheese and blend again, then add the oil and blend until you have a thick, well-blended paste.
Gathering fungi is an aspect of foraging beset with warnings of possible health risks, which must be taken seriously (my mother, a botanist and country dweller of long experience would have no truck with anything except field mushrooms). Try to go out collecting with an expert – look out for organised fungus forays, now held quite widely, and acquire a good field guide, such as Jane Eastoe’s Mushrooms.
Once you feel confident over gathering wild fungi, late summer and autumn country walks take on a whole new purpose, in which anything white in a field has to be investigated in case it is a field mushroom, and the ground under the edges of woodland inspected for chanterelles and penny buns. Early morning is considered the best time for mushrooming, partly because fungi really do mushroom overnight, and partly because those in the know get out early before the competition.
Field mushrooms (Agaricus campestris), appear in August and September, and initially have domed white caps, which flatten and become creamier in colour with age. The gills underneath start out a pale pink, turning browner and ending up almost chocolate-coloured in older specimens (never eat anything with white gills unless you have expert identification, and do not eat anything resembling a field mushroom that develops a yellow stain when cut or broken). Field mushrooms are also much enjoyed by insect larvae, so remove the stem and examine the space it leaves on the cap for small holes.
The best use for a modest haul of field mushrooms is to fry them: make sure you have a supply of thinly sliced best bacon and cook this first until crisp. Keep it warm while the mushrooms fry in the bacon fat, and enjoy as a bacon and mushroom sandwich.
Chanterelles (Cantharellus cibarius) grow under trees, especially conifers or birch, in September and October. They are egg-yolk yellow and have trumpet-shaped caps with irregular wavy edges. The gills run from the edge of the cap almost all the way down the stem, tapering at the lower ends, and the fungi have a distinctive smell reminiscent of apricots. Chanterelles need to be carefully washed (soil tends to lodge in the gills). Slice or halve the fungi, depending on size, then fry them lightly in butter with a sliver of garlic. Finish by scrambling some eggs into the mixture.
Penny bun (Boletus edulis), describes something now better known in British gastronomy as ceps or porcini. The English name describes the appearance of these fungi: round golden-brown domes like freshly baked bread buns hidden amid the grass under trees. Instead of gills, they have tubes underneath, giving a sponge-like appearance. Beware of worm-eaten specimens and the related, but toxic, devil’s boletus. Slice and fry in butter or olive oil, adding a little chopped parsley and garlic towards the end of cooking, or add to meat dishes.
