fruit-recipe Archives - Orchards Near Me

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.

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 2
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.

March 30, 2020 orchardsnearme Blog, fruit-recipe, wild recipe dandelions, foraging, wild food recipes

wild-herbal-tea-recipe-collection-orchards-near-me

Wild Tea Party: Wild Herbal Tea and Recipes

If you are interested in building a long-lasting healthy habit then herbal teas with natural anti-oxidants and health benefits may be just for you. Both hot and cold teas are a refreshing way to relax in the evenings.

Now that the summer is over and we have spent time experimenting with our favourite wild flavours we are ready to share our collection of Wild Herbal Tea recipes with the world.

Foragers and herb enthusiasts from around the world will have different ways of using their dried herbs and we are no different. From combining wild herbs with traditional herbs and spices we have come up with our top choices when it comes to foraging for wild teas. You can get a copy of our full Wild Herbal Tea recipe collection including our favourite iced teas and detox juices here.

Here are some easy wild tasty tea recipes to try out at home:

Dandelion Tea

1 Cup of freshly picked Dandelion Heads
1 Tablespoon of fresh lemon juice
1 Teaspoon of Honey

Add all ingredients to water, gently simmer for 15 minutes and bring to a boil!

Yarrow Tea

1 Cup of Dried Yarrow Flowers
1/2 Cup of Dried Raspberry or Blackberry Leaves

As one of our favourite herbs we stock up regularly so if you are looking for Yarrow head over to our Be Wild Store. Add all ingredients to water, gently simmer for 15 minutes and bring to a boil!

Clover Tea

1 Cup of Dried Clover Flowers
1/2 Lemon juice
1 Teaspoon of Honey

Add all ingredients to water, gently simmer for 15 minutes and bring to a boil!

Infused Pine Needle Tea

1 Cup of chopped up Pine Needles
1 squeeze of lemon juice

Add all ingredients to water and gently bring to a boil! For extra flavour you can leave the pine needles in the water overnight and bring to the boil when you are ready the next morning.

For our full collection of recipes visit the Be Wild store and for more information about foraging for wild foods please get in touch with us anytime.

October 22, 2019 Lisa Long Blog, foraging, fruit-recipe foraging, herbal teas, recipes, tea, tea party, wild herbs

Wild Food Recipe: Super Healthy Wild Weed Salad

It’s getting dark out there and winter is slowly peeping its head around the corner. This is the perfect time to stock up your vitamins and make the most of the weekend sunshine. If you want a little inspiration for your next salad dish than look no further than your nearest woodlands to get your ingredients for this wild weed salad.

We tend to ramble about blackberries a lot at this time of year but these vitamin packed treats are falling straight from the bushes right now so grab a basket and get outdoors! Fun fact: the study of blackberries is called Batology so I guess this makes some of us foraging enthusiasts Batologists.

Here is our super simple wild weed salad recipe that you can try at home.

Ingredients

Orach Leaves
Ox Eye Daisies
Wild Blackberries
Mallow leaves
Plaintain
Olive Oil
Lemon Juice
Salt and Pepper

Preparation

Be sure to wash all of your ingredients thoroughly. Carefully cut the orach leaves from any stems. Put the orach leaves, mallow leaves and plaintain in a bowl, sprinkle with salt and a squeeze of lemon juice. Throw in the daisy heads. Put the blackberries in a separate bowl and sprinkle with a tablespoon of sugar and add a squeeze of lemon juice. Now put the berries into the salad bowl. Add salt and pepper. I like to garnish salads with some colourful wild edible flowers and gorse is just in springing to life so grab a small handful. Note: Don’t eat gorse in large quantities as it contains toxic alkaloids which can be hard on the stomach.

Voila! Now you have a very healthy wild weed salad for lunch or as a side at your next dinner party.

If you want to pair a wine with your next blackberry dish then we hear from good sources that the red grapes from Bordeaux in France are worth a shot.

October 1, 2019 orchardsnearme Blog, fruit-recipe foraging, wild recipe, wild weeds

apple-and-blackberry-crumble-recipe-orchards-near-me

Blackberry Season: Apple and Blackberry Crumble Recipe

This is the ultimate treat any time of the year. It is warm, sweet and super delicious. Try our homemade apple and blackberry crumble for the perfect taste of Autumn.

Crumble Ingredients

150g plain flour
80g caster sugar
70g unsalted butter

Fruit Mix

300g Apples
3 cups of wild blackberries
30g of demerara sugar
30g of butter
1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon

For the crumble:

Be prepared to get your hands dirty here. Add the flour to a large bowl. Cut the butter into small squares and add to the same bowl. Wash your hands and dry them. Now put your finger tips into the bowl and begin to crumble your mixture. The mix should look like small pieces of soft granola. If you over mix, it will become light and fluffy. You don’t want this to happen so avoid rubbing too much. You want some bigger crumble bits to go alongside the chunky apple.

For the fruit layer:

Carefully peel and chop apples into small and big chunks. Don’t worry about perfect sizes, this recipe is supposed to be messy. Enjoy chopping up your apples into different sizes. Put your freshly picked blackberries into a small bowl and wash them gently under cool water. Add the apples to a pot and add a small small of water. Leave them to stew for 5 to 10 minutes. Now add the blackberries. They will quickly stew into a nice juice Slowly pour 1 cup of sugar over the mixture. Leave them to stew on a low heat for 10 minutes.

Now you are ready to put your crumbly dessert together. Start by pouring the Apple and blackberry mix into an oven dish. Now sprinkle your crumble over the top. Place the dish in your heated over for 20 to 25 minutes. Serve warm with a side of vanilla ice cream.

Delicious!

August 24, 2019 orchardsnearme Blog, fruit picking, fruit-recipe blackberries, foraging, fruit recipe

blackberry-seasons-blackberry-recipe-orchards-near-me

Blackberry Season: Blackberry and Banana Smoothie Recipe

Detox and Delicious! This blackberry and banana smoothie is the perfect treat at the end of your foraging outings during the blackberry picking season. Packed with vitamin C, high in fibre and full of anti-oxidants you will have a refreshing fruit drink full of health benefits. Plus, the recipe is super easy!

Ingredients

1 Cup of Blackberries
1 Banana
1/2 cup of Natural Yogurt
1 teaspoon of Natural Honey

Instructions

Wash your blackberries once you have picked them to remove any insects.

Peel the banana and mash it lightly with a fork.

Put the berries, banana, yogurt and 1 large teaspoon of honey into a bowl. Use a hand blender or any blender to mix the ingredients.

If you enjoy this super easy blackberry and banana smoothie recipe than you may like our wild tea recipe collection.

Enjoy! To learn more about our foraging adventures please contact the team. Happy Blackberry picking all.

August 13, 2019 orchardsnearme Blog, fruit-recipe blackberry recipe, wild food

blackberry-and-basil-salad-recipe-orchards-near-me

Blackberry Season: Blackberry and Basil Salad Recipe

As foragers we love to discover rare plants and wild edibles all year round but the months of August and September are extra special. These are prime harvest months in Europe. Vines are weighed down with grapes and bushes are filled to the brim with ripe berries ready to be picked.

To celebrate one of our favourite times of the year when all of the blackberries start to appear on the bushes we will be telling you our top blackberry recipes each week for the next six weeks.

We will start with a blackberry and basil salad that we recently tried out for friends.

I can safely say that the mixture of sweet and fresh ingredients makes this wild salad recipe extra special.

INGREDIENTS

Fresh wild blackberries
1/2 red Onion finely sliced
Foraged Seabeet and Lettuce Leaves
Feta Cheese
Toasted Almonds
Basil Leaves
Balsamic Vinegar

INSTRUCTIONS

Pick the berries and basil leaves. This is the most important part of the preparation. There are plenty of berries around at the moment. Head to the countryside or a nearby park with your foraging basket and enjoy spending time with nature. We grow basil at home so it’s easy to pick off our leaves.
Gather the other ingredients from your local store and wash all of the greens and berries.
Carefully slice half an onion into thin slices
Cut the almond nuts in half and toast them lightly in a hot pan.
Cut the feta cheese into cubes.
Mix all of the ingredients in your salad bowl
Sprinkle a tablespoon of balsamic vinegar or apple cider vinegar over the top.

Fresh, seasonal and super tasty this is the perfect addition to any dinner party or weekend brunch.

We have some delicious blackberry recipes to share in the coming weeks so stay tuned and look forward to hearing some feedback. If you have any top berry recipes to share please get in touch.

August 9, 2019 orchardsnearme Blog, fruit picking, fruit-recipe, nature berry picking, fruit picking, harvest, recipe

homemade-wild-tea-bags-workshop-orchards-near-me

Foraging for Wild Tea Flavours

Take a walk in the woods or by the sea at any time of the year and you are bound to stumble upon an abundance of free wild tea flavours that you can add to your next cuppa. There are many to choose from but we have handpicked a few of our top choices when it comes to making a home brew for our Wild Tea Workshops.

Wild Jasmine

There are many varieties of jasmine that bloom throughout the summer months. If you are looking for the most flavour choose the ‘poet’s jasmine’, recognised by its small white flowers.

Honeysuckle

AKA woodbine produces a sweet scented creamy flower that comes to life in the summer months. It is easily identified and climbs trees to look for light in woodland areas.

Dandelions

This common weed, often considered a nuisance for gardeners but treasured by foragers from near and far, is the perfect herbal tea addition. It contains lots of anti-oxidants and the health benefits coming from the roots are highly sought after today.

Ox Eye Daisies

Usually found in fields at the edges of coastal areas, the Ox eye daisy is full of nutrients.

Raspberry Leaves

Raspberries burst into life in summer and autumn seasons, giving us plenty of fruit to enjoy. However many people disregard the leaves and these young green leaves can make a lovely addition to your wild tea recipes. If they are dried correctly they can taste just like a black cup of tea.

Meadowsweet

Just when the Elderflowers start to fade we begin to see heads of meadowsweet appearing in the fields and woodlands. Not a pungent as elderflower or honeysuckle but a nice soothing addition to your wild tea recipes.

Gorse Tea

You can’t miss the yellow carpet of Gorse (Aka furze) across the Irish landscape in Autumn time. The flowers are edible and known to taste a little like almonds.

Red Clover Flowers

Another flower that you can’t miss in the summer months is the red clover which is actually purple in colour. These short purple flowers hang around in gangs by coastal areas and are a tasty and healthy addition to tea recipes and salads.

All of these flavours make for tasty wild tea with friends. Some of them also work well together. For example, raspberry leaves and meadowsweet compliment eachother and give honeysuckle and gorse a try if you fancy a delicious cup of summertime tea.

Have you experimented with homemade tea? If so we would love to hear about the plants and flowers you have used. Join our foraging workshops each month to enjoy learning about the landscapes and getting a taste of the wild or book a Wild Tea Workshop with our local Foragers for you and friends.

July 5, 2019 orchardsnearme Blog, foraging, fruit-recipe wild herbs, wild tea

Delicious Homemade Seabeet Detox Smoothie

Packed full of iron, Vitamin C and healthy goodness, this easy detox smoothie is the perfect way to cleanse and repair your body after any long weekend.

We often forage for sea beet, using it as a natural substitute for greens in stir-fry’s, stews and more but on one Sunday filled with sunshine we were inspired to create this delicious smoothie that is now a monthly fixture in our ever growing plant based recipe list.

Never tried and tested making homemade smoothies before? Don’t fear, this is probably one of the easiest recipes to start with. Here is the short list of ingredients and a few useful tips when you plan to forage for this healthy plant.

INGREDIENTS

Three cups of freshly picked Sea Beet leaves
Two large pears
The juice from half of one lemon
Grated Ginger
Crushed mint leaves (just a few)

PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER

This is pretty easy. Wash your ingredients thoroughly. Cut off the stems from your sea beet leaves and chop into thin slices. Peel your pears carefully (save the skins and add them as a decoration in the end), finely grate a small cube of ginger. Slice a lemon in half. Now you are ready to put it all together. Blend these ingredients until smooth. After you have gotten rid of the lumps add a few ice cubes and 3 – 4 mint leaves. Blend gently for two minutes. Tadaa you have made your very own detox smoothie. Enjoy!

HOW TO PICK SEA BEET

Sea beet is a seaside plant we love to forage for all year round. It is easy to identify and will pop up at the edges of beaches in small bundles. Never pull the plant from the root. If you are picking sea beet just snip a small amount of the leaves and the rest will replenish itself.

Always wear gloves when you are out foraging and make sure to wash the leaves thoroughly before using them in any recipes.

We hope that you enjoy this easy sea beet detox smoothie and hope to see you soon for some foraging adventures.

April 30, 2019 Lisa Long Blog, fruit-recipe foraging, nature, recipe

Fruit Recipe: Homemade Lemonade

Many people associate fresh homemade lemonade juice with summertime but we believe this is an all year round fruit recipe. The perfect glass of lemonade will bring back childhood memories, quench your thirst and give you a zest for life (see what I done there). Here is our easy lemonade recipe to try at home.

Homemade Lemonade Ingredients and Utensils

1 1/2 cups of granulated sugar

5 large cups of cold water

7 Ripe lemons

A tray of ice cubes

Pitcher and tumbler glasses

First you need to thoroughly wash the lemons in warm water. Organic lemons are best or even better if you have an orchard nearby to pick your own.

Next use a peeler or a sharp knife to remove the peel. Don’t throw away the peels. The peels contain most of the calcium and Vitamin C so we use them whenever we can. Slice the peel into very thin slices with a sharp knife. Leave them to the side while you squeeze the juice from each lemon into a pot.

Place the pot on the stove on a gentle heat. Add the sugar now. Next pour in the water and allow it to simmer. While it is boiling add the lemon zest from 3 – 4 lemons. You can use the remaining peels for decoration when you are serving later.

Once the mixture has boiled put it in a container and leave it in the refrigerator for 24 hours.

Serve with plenty of ice. Enjoy!

February 22, 2019 Lisa Long Blog, fruit-recipe fruit recipe, homemade lemonade, lemons

5 Unique Ways to Use Cranberries at Christmas Time

Like no other fruit cranberries are a symbol of Christmas time. The red berries matching perfectly with the warm glow of heat from the first, the neatly hung Christmas stockings and of course Santa’s red outfit. No other fruit will do at this time of the year.

Do you have cranberry sauce with your turkey at dinner time? Everyone knows that turkey meat is dry so the cranberry jazzes it up and brings a little fruity flavour to the Christmas dinner table.

Cranberries aren’t just a symbol of Christmas, they represent the cosy atmosphere we yearn for in the winter months. Besides the worshipped cranberry sauce there are so many things we can do with this tarty fruit during the holiday season. Here are a few of our favourite ways to use cranberries:

1. A Cranberry Christmas cocktail
Vodka and cranberries go hand in hand. This is so simple and so tasty. Take one shot of cranberry, crush 3 – 4 ice cubes, add fresh cranberry juice, a slice of lime and a few mint leaves. Voila, you have yourself a festive cocktail for visitors during the holiday season.

2. A slice of warm cranberry pie is the perfect way to finish off your Christmas feast. Check out this great easy cranberry pie recipe on the Country Living magazine.

3. Homemade Cranberry Body Scrub
Three ingredients will give you a fruitful cranberry scrub that acts as an exfoliant for up to a month. Simply blend cranberries, coconut oil and sugar into a jar and store in the fridge when you are not using it.

4. Cranberry decorated candles and centre pieces
Wer love these unique ways to decorate your Christmas table with cranberries from Berry World. A little bit of holly, a handful of carnberries and a lot of love will give you a fruitful table for all to enjoy.

5. Cranberry Muffins for Breakfast

Last but not least the humble cranberry muffin (best served with a large spoonful of freshly whipped cream). This is a tasty treat morning, noon or night. A soft bun with sprinkles of cranberries and lots of sugar goodness. What’s not to love. For an easy follow cranberry muffin recipe you can check out A Taste of Home.

For more fruit filled recipes and to enquire about our fruit picking tours please contact one of our travel team.

December 11, 2018 orchardsnearme Blog, fruit-recipe cranberries, cranberry cocktail, cranberry recipe, fruit, recipes

fruit-recipe

Dandelion (aka Taraxacum officinale)

Tempura Battered Dandelions

Batter Ingredients

Aioli Dipping Sauce

Dandelion Tea

Yarrow Tea

Clover Tea

Infused Pine Needle Tea

Ingredients

Preparation

Crumble Ingredients

Fruit Mix

Ingredients

Instructions

INGREDIENTS

INSTRUCTIONS

INGREDIENTS

PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER

HOW TO PICK SEA BEET

GET THE LATEST ORCHARD NEWS!