Nettle Soup
Soup, glorious soup. This is an easy foraged dish to get your bush dinner on the go. Nettles are an incredibly versatile ingredient with many uses. Once cooked nettles have a similar taste to spinach or cabbage.
1 tbsp olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
1 onion, chopped
1 carrot, diced
1 leek, washed and finely sliced
1 large floury potato (Maris Piper or similar), thinly sliced
1l vegetable stock
400g stinging or dead nettles, washed, leaves picked (see tips below)
50g butter, diced
50ml double cream
1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat. Add the onion, carrot, leek and potato and cook for 10 minutes until the vegetables start to soften. Add the stock and cook for a further 10-15 minutes until the potato is soft
2. Add the nettle leaves, simmer for 1 min to wild, then blend the soup. Season to taste, then stir in the butter and cream. Serve the soup drizzled with extra oil and scattered with dead nettle flowers, if you have them.
Spicy Dandelion Greens
This one might sound a bit strange if you are new to foraging, but dandelion greens really are delicious. You can find them almost anywhere which means you can stock up on a lot to make a truly hearty meal. Dandelion greens are natures richest green Vitamin A source. They are packed with fiber, potassium, iron, calcium and magnesium and protein. Youre running out of reasons not to give it a go.
1 teaspoon salt
1 pound dandelion greens, torn into 4-inch pieces
1 teaspoon salt
4 strips bacon
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 onion, thinly sliced
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 cloves garlic, minced
salt and ground black pepper to taste
1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese (optional)
1. Soak the dandelion greens in a large bowl of cold water with 1 teaspoon of salt for 10 minutes. Then drain.
2. Bring a large pot of water to a boil with 1 teaspoon of salt. Cook the greens until tender which should be 3-4 minutes.
3. Cook bacon until crispy, and then crumble. Reserve 1 tablespoon of bacon grease. Heat bacon grease and butter in a large pan over a medium heat.
4. Cook and stir onion and red pepper flakes until onion is tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic until garlic is fragrant.
5. Add more head and add dandelion greens. Continue to cook and stir until the liquid evaporates. This should take around 3-4 minutes.
6. Season with salt and black pepper. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese to serve.
Bush Nut Bread
This is a very easy bush dish which simply requires making the dough, and placing it in front of the fire. Easy peasy. A hearty bread to be enjoyed with some foraged berry jam if you know how. If thats a bit advanced for you then store bought jam or Nutella should be fine. We wont judge you.
1LB of Strong White Bread Flour
4 Level Tea Spoons of Baking Powder
1/2 cup of Water
125g of Mixed Crushed Nuts & Raisins
1. Keep 2 tablespoons of flour to one side, just in case you add too much water when mixing. Mix all the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl.
2. Add the water until a thick dough is formed. Make sure the dough is not too sticky, but holds together in one large mass. Shape into a flat circle or oval until the dough is 1 to 2 inches thick.
3. Place on a cooking surface which can be positioned in front of an open fire at an angle of around 45 degrees. Bake slowly for around 45 minutes until the crust has risen slightly. If it seems to be getting too brown before the centre is done. Flip over the load and bake the underside for around 15-20 minutes. Make sure the centre is fully baked through. Add spread and serve.
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