I've just run a Wild Food Night for some Scouts.
Here are my recipes if you want to use :-
Nettle Soup.
Ingredients:
Oil/fat/butter..
One Onion chopped fine.
One or Two Potatoes peeled and Chopped.
Stock cube to taste.
Two pints of Water.
Four handfuls of nettles.
Put a couple of tablespoons of oil/fat/butter in the bottom of a pan. Add the chopped onion and cook on low for a few minutes to start soften. Add the potatoes and continue cooking on a low for a few more minutes. Add water stock cube and nettles.
Bring up to a boil then simmer for ten minutes. Mince or liquidise. Check seasoning. Serve.
It is improved if a small amount of cream is added at the time of serving.
Nettle Beer.
Ingredients:-
1 Shopping bag full of young nettle tops
2 Lemons
1 Gallon Water (8 pints)
1 lb sugar (brown is better)
1-2 tbsp cream of tartar
Yeast
1 inch cube of root ginger, chopped (optional)
Pinch cayenne pepper (optional)
Wash the nettle tops, (add spices) and bring to the boil in enough of the water to cover. Simmer for 15 mins. This will smell like cabbage and the water will go a greeny/browny/red colour! Take off the heat, remove the nettles, add the lemon juice, cream of tartar and sugar and stir until well dissolved. Add the rest of the water, and when cooled to body temperature, add yeast (about 1/2 a tsp beer yeast - beer yeast will not taste as 'yeasty' when finished).
You now have 2 options.
Either place in a demijohn/fermenting bin, fit an airlock/lid and ferment/rack/bottle like proper beer.
Or put straight into 1/2 litre plastic bottles, leave for 3-5 days to build up pressure and server as a lightly alcoholic fizzy drink, similar to elderflower champagne. you can use bread yeast if you are following this method, but it will have a slightly yeastier taste).
A Salat of little leaves after the style of the Earl of sandwich.
Dandelion leaves. Plantain leaves. Hedge garlic. Lime leaves. Hawthorn leaves.
Chickweed. Ransoms.
Sliced bread and butter/spread.
Wash drain and dry the leaves. Break into small pieces and dress with an olive oil and vinegar or lemon juice dressing please include salt and pepper and perhaps mustard.
Make up into sandwiches and serve with some of the whole leaves as garnish.
Alexanders.
Collect some Alexanders stalks. Wash and peel. Boil in plenty of slightly salted water for no more than ten minutes.
Serve with melted butter.
Try not to worry too much about the overpowering taste.
Not poodle.
Ingredients.
Edible leaves:- Dandelion leaves, Plantain leaves, Hedge garlic, Lime leaves, Hawthorn leaves, Chickweed, Ransoms.
Onion sliced thinly.
Carrot sliced thinly.
Noodles broken up a bit.
Stock cube/s.
Water.
Wash the leaves and place in saucepan with the rest of the ingredients add boiling water to not quite cover. Stir until stock dissolved, cover and leave for five minutes. Serving suggestion (Plastic pots with aluminium foil cover).
And now something to drink:-
Teas.
A selection of teas
Made up as normal tea but leave to infuse for ten minutes.
Pine needles cut up fine - two to three teaspoons to the pint of boiling water.
Nettle leaves small handful to the pint of boiling water.
Lime leaves and flowers two tablespoons to the pint.
Raspberry and blackberry leaves as above.
Peppermint leaves as above.
If you really must you can add a little sugar.
Books to continue the interest.
Food for Free. Richard Mabey
Wild Foods. Roger Phillips. On line book at http://www.rogersplants.com/
You also need a good field guide Collins or similar.
On line info on plants and their uses- http://www.pfaf.org/
The Scouts only collected the plants that I knew that they knew like nettles, pine, plantains and chickweed etc. but the full list of plants used is as follows:-
NETTLES.
FENNEL.
SPRING BEAUTY.
CHICKWEED.
PINE NEEDLES.
SORREL.
WOOD SORREL.
GORSE FLOWERS.
HAWTHORN.
RANSOMES.
DANDELION.
PLANTAIN NARROW AND BROAD LEAVED.
HEDGE GARLIC
LIME LEAVES
ALEXANDERS
HOG WEED.
BLACKBERRY LEAVES
MINT LEAVES.
I've never seen Scouts so excited about eating greens, they all enjoyed themselves and thought the nettle soup the best.
Here are my recipes if you want to use :-
Nettle Soup.
Ingredients:
Oil/fat/butter..
One Onion chopped fine.
One or Two Potatoes peeled and Chopped.
Stock cube to taste.
Two pints of Water.
Four handfuls of nettles.
Put a couple of tablespoons of oil/fat/butter in the bottom of a pan. Add the chopped onion and cook on low for a few minutes to start soften. Add the potatoes and continue cooking on a low for a few more minutes. Add water stock cube and nettles.
Bring up to a boil then simmer for ten minutes. Mince or liquidise. Check seasoning. Serve.
It is improved if a small amount of cream is added at the time of serving.
Nettle Beer.
Ingredients:-
1 Shopping bag full of young nettle tops
2 Lemons
1 Gallon Water (8 pints)
1 lb sugar (brown is better)
1-2 tbsp cream of tartar
Yeast
1 inch cube of root ginger, chopped (optional)
Pinch cayenne pepper (optional)
Wash the nettle tops, (add spices) and bring to the boil in enough of the water to cover. Simmer for 15 mins. This will smell like cabbage and the water will go a greeny/browny/red colour! Take off the heat, remove the nettles, add the lemon juice, cream of tartar and sugar and stir until well dissolved. Add the rest of the water, and when cooled to body temperature, add yeast (about 1/2 a tsp beer yeast - beer yeast will not taste as 'yeasty' when finished).
You now have 2 options.
Either place in a demijohn/fermenting bin, fit an airlock/lid and ferment/rack/bottle like proper beer.
Or put straight into 1/2 litre plastic bottles, leave for 3-5 days to build up pressure and server as a lightly alcoholic fizzy drink, similar to elderflower champagne. you can use bread yeast if you are following this method, but it will have a slightly yeastier taste).
A Salat of little leaves after the style of the Earl of sandwich.
Dandelion leaves. Plantain leaves. Hedge garlic. Lime leaves. Hawthorn leaves.
Chickweed. Ransoms.
Sliced bread and butter/spread.
Wash drain and dry the leaves. Break into small pieces and dress with an olive oil and vinegar or lemon juice dressing please include salt and pepper and perhaps mustard.
Make up into sandwiches and serve with some of the whole leaves as garnish.
Alexanders.
Collect some Alexanders stalks. Wash and peel. Boil in plenty of slightly salted water for no more than ten minutes.
Serve with melted butter.
Try not to worry too much about the overpowering taste.
Not poodle.
Ingredients.
Edible leaves:- Dandelion leaves, Plantain leaves, Hedge garlic, Lime leaves, Hawthorn leaves, Chickweed, Ransoms.
Onion sliced thinly.
Carrot sliced thinly.
Noodles broken up a bit.
Stock cube/s.
Water.
Wash the leaves and place in saucepan with the rest of the ingredients add boiling water to not quite cover. Stir until stock dissolved, cover and leave for five minutes. Serving suggestion (Plastic pots with aluminium foil cover).
And now something to drink:-
Teas.
A selection of teas
Made up as normal tea but leave to infuse for ten minutes.
Pine needles cut up fine - two to three teaspoons to the pint of boiling water.
Nettle leaves small handful to the pint of boiling water.
Lime leaves and flowers two tablespoons to the pint.
Raspberry and blackberry leaves as above.
Peppermint leaves as above.
If you really must you can add a little sugar.
Books to continue the interest.
Food for Free. Richard Mabey
Wild Foods. Roger Phillips. On line book at http://www.rogersplants.com/
You also need a good field guide Collins or similar.
On line info on plants and their uses- http://www.pfaf.org/
The Scouts only collected the plants that I knew that they knew like nettles, pine, plantains and chickweed etc. but the full list of plants used is as follows:-
NETTLES.
FENNEL.
SPRING BEAUTY.
CHICKWEED.
PINE NEEDLES.
SORREL.
WOOD SORREL.
GORSE FLOWERS.
HAWTHORN.
RANSOMES.
DANDELION.
PLANTAIN NARROW AND BROAD LEAVED.
HEDGE GARLIC
LIME LEAVES
ALEXANDERS
HOG WEED.
BLACKBERRY LEAVES
MINT LEAVES.
I've never seen Scouts so excited about eating greens, they all enjoyed themselves and thought the nettle soup the best.
