Winter

Here is a quick video on how to put together my favourite wild winter snack from half a dozen wild ingredients that grow right next to one another…

I get a little troubled by the excess of sous vide cooking in modern gastronomy. Do we really want so much of our food to be swaddled in plastic? Why not instead use the natural seasoning, umami-giving, nutrient-rich and moisture retaining properties of seaweeds?

All you need to know to get you started foraging for edible seaweeds. Includes distribution charts, nutritional information, harvesting strategies, recipe ideas and an in depth guide to the most rewarding species.

Sugar kelp is closely related to Saccharina japonica, the (farmed) seaweed basis of nearly all Japanese dashi, and can be used in similar ways – adding umami to soups, stews and stocks.

A very distinctive and tasty seaweed – up to 2m long yellowy brown spaghetti-like fronds, dividing near the base, growing from small, button-like holdfasts.