Archives March 2020

tempura-battered-dandelions-recipe-wild-food

Wild Recipe: Tempura Battered Dandelions

Dandelion (aka Taraxacum officinale)

Today we are cooking tempura battered dandelions, a real Springtime treat. Famous as a garden weed, this yellow headed plant isn’t often noted for its fantastic healing properties but dandelions are a real gift from nature.

They are a natural anti-inflammatory, used in skincare to treat anti-aging and has a long history as a medicinal plant since the 11th century. Dandelions can provide a welcome boost to your immune system in Springtime. All parts of this special weed are edible. Today the root is used as a trendy substitute for coffee.springtime-foraging-wild-garlic-and-dandelions

Try this delicious recipe to add some freshly washed dandelions to your diet.

Tempura Battered Dandelions

What you will need: Freshly Foraged Dandelion heads (aim for between 15 – 20).

Batter Ingredients

  • 1 Large Egg
  • 125 g Plain Flour
  • 250 ml/1 Cup of very cold water or sparkling water

Aioli Dipping Sauce

  • 2 Egg yolks
  • 4 Tablespoons of White wine vinegar
  • 120 ml Olive oil
  • 3 Cloves of Garlic
  • 1 lemon juiced
  • 2 teaspoons of sea salt

STEP 1
Prepare the batter. The key here is making sure that the water is very cold. Leave it in the freezer for a 2 or 3 minutes if you want. Add the egg to the water, now gently mix in the flour with a spoon until smooth.Heat the vegetable oil in a wok, deep saucepan or deep fat fryer to 180’c.

STEP 2tempura-battered-dandelions
Prepare the Dandelion heads by gently washing them, removing the stem and leaves. Pat them dry before using them.

STEP 3
Before you start cooking your flowers, prepare your aioli sauce. Mince the garlic, mix the egg yolk and vinegar, whisk in the olive oil, add lemon juice and season with salt and pepper.

STEP 4
Now is the exciting part. Heat a large portion of vegetable oil in a pot or wok. (Note: Never leave a pan of oil heating alone. Stay with the cooker until you are finished). Sprinkle your dandelion heads with flower, dip into the batter and drop into the hot oil for 2 minutes until they are golden brown. Only do a handful each time.

STEP 5
Sit back and enjoy this super weed snack.

To start planning your foraging adventures you can download a copy of our Foraging Workbook Planner here.

If you have any recipe tips or foraging knowledge to share we would love to hear from you.

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alexander-spring-rolls-wild-food-recip

Wild Food Recipe: Alexander Spring Rolls

These delicious snacks are a super healthy way to use your recently foraged treats and some of your staple fridge vegetables.

Alexanders are ripe for picking from April to June. These wonderful wild edible plants pop up everywhere. You will find them growing in park edges, forest edges and near coastal regions. It tastes like a mixture of celery and parsley, making it the perfect pairing for stir-fry’s and a lot of Asian dishes. If you are a vegetarian then you will welcome this addition to your vegetable list.spring-rolls-foraging

Try boiling the stems and leaves and making a substitute for pepper from the flower heads. The seeds are spicy acting as a healthy addition to your spice rack. You will see that many chefs use the roots, roasting them with a little olive oil and salt (as you would normally do with roasted carrots and parsnips).

Here is our little Alexander recipe for you to try out at home.

Alexander Spring Rolls

Spring Roll Wraps
2 cups of flour
2 tablespoons of corn starch
3/4 cup of very cold water
1 heaped teaspoon of salt
Tip: Once you have combined the ingrediants to form your dough leave it to the side for 20 minutes while you prepare your filling.

Spring Roll Fillingspring-roll-filling-orchards-near-me
Finely Chopped Alexender Leave
Finely chopped Alexander stems (about a handful)
1 bunch of wild garlic leaves
Red Chilli
Finely chopped yellow onion
Yellow pepper sliced finely
Diced cucumber
3 Tablespoons of Oyster Sauce
Salt and Pepper

To Prepare

  • Gently saute the filling ingredients in a hot pan for 10 minutes.
  • In a small bowl beat an egg.
  • Now make 8 dough balls from your wrapping mixture. Spend time rolling out each ball until it is as thin as you can get it.
  • Add the filling to the centre of your wrap.
  • Brush the rest of the inside with egg to help stick the wrap together and roll them up.

We hope that you have fun trying this wild recipe and sharing your Alexander Spring Rolls with friends.

To start planning your foraging adventures you can download a copy of our Foraging Workbook Planner here.

If you have been experimenting with foraged foods we would love to hear from you.

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wild-food-recipe-forest-pho-soup

Wild Food Recipe: Forest Pho

Do you want a taste of the forest? The fresh air, the wild garlic, the scent of pine, everything about the forest shouts discover and explore. This is exactly what we do when we cook with wild foods and embark on a foraging adventure.forest-pho-wild-food-recipe-orchards

Today we went to the woods and found the most delicious wild greens, fiddleheads, wild garlic, scarlet elf cups and jelly ears. Now we are ready to whip up a tasty bowl of pho to warm us up for the evening.

INGREDIENTS

foraging-for-wild-herbs

    • 1 bunch of Wild Garlic Leaves
    • A few leaves of wild mustard
    • Cleavers aka Sticky Willies
    • Fresh Ginger
    • Fiddleheads
    • Mushrooms (any kind will do but we used Jelly ears and Elf cups because we had some freshly picked)

 

  • 1 large onion
  • Peppercorns
  • Cloves
  • Chili Flakes
  • A pinch of cinnamon
  • Beef Stock
  • Noodleswild-herb-noodle-soup-foraging
  • Mint to garnish

Now you are ready to put your dish together and this couldn’t be easier. Saute the onion in a tablespoon of butter, add the wild garlic leaves

for two minutes. Now add the ginger, wild mustard and Fiddleheads. Stir gently for 1 minute. Add chili flakes, peppercorns and cinnamon. After another two minutes frying add the mushrooms. Now gently ladle the beef stock over the mixture, stirring as you pour. When your soup mix has boiled add the noodles.

I always have a few crackers on the side.

Now you are ready to serve and enjoy!

If you enjoyed this wild food recipes then you might also like to give our wild garlic pesto a try.

To start planning your foraging adventures you can download a copy of our Foraging Workbook Planner here.

Happy Foraging!

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