This is a delightful, easy-to-come-by plant that can be cooked like spinach, added to stir-fries etc, but is at its best raw. I love to employ its earthy flavour in winter salads with pickled fish, beetroot and elderberry vinegar, though it works well as a mild “bulker” with sharper-tasting leaves in spring…
After first encountering this unusual and delicious brassica in the Scottish highlands, I was delighted to stumble on it again in my favourite bit of Galloway swamp – 10 minutes from my house…
One of the great pleasures of foraging is discovering exciting flavours in the common and innocuous-looking plants around us. Sea arrowgrass never fails to raise squeals of surprise and delight when we encounter it on my guided coastal walks.
Sweet cicely offers many sensual pleasures to the forager. There is an ampleness and generosity in her growth that is pleasing to the eye – seldom taller than a metre or so, but always appearing substantial without being solid. Despite being a member of the often scary carrot family, this gorgeous plant is one I recommend to novice foragers.
The pungency of garlic mustard isn’t to all tastes. It took me a couple of seasons of uncertain nibbling to come round to its charms. Now i’m hooked and no spring walk seems complete without its rich and vibrants flavour.