This week I’m looking at the more unusual plants that we came across on our woodland walk, and have some suggestions for savoury recipes.
On our search, we came across some tasty and commonly found fungi which I will explain a bit more about in this post. However to be safe, only ever collect fungi that you can identify 100%, and make sure you have the landowner’s permission to collect any.
Known as a shaggy parasol, this mushroom has great flavour and the cap can reach up to 7in across!
The cap has a pale brown to cream colour, and the stem is long and slender with a thicker base. Try a few as parasol fritters (click on the pic for recipe)
A giant puffball: these bad boys can grow big. The biggest on record was 150cm across
To ID these, cut them open. They should have a hard, white, fleshy interior. They absorb other cooking flavours well, so try them sauteed or fried with meat and/or veg.
These hazlenuts can be eaten 'green' fresh from the tree, dried for use later in the year, or toasted with butter (click on pic). Yum!
Who knew you could eat gorse flowers? They have a sweet, coco-nutty flavour and go well in desserts. Wear gloves when harvesting though!
You could have a go at brewing your own beer with these wild hops, or drying them out for use as an aromatic natural sleep aid.
Also take a look at last week’s post for ideas for sweet foraging recipes, and for more help on identification, get hold of a copy of Richard Maber’s Food for Free. Happy foraging!
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Hi and welcome. I'm a freelance travel and lifestyle copywriter and editor, with a passion for the great outdoors. This is my personal blog all about getting out in the fresh air and reconnecting with our green spaces and countryside.
Mmmm! Puffballs are my favourite. We found one the size of a football recently, they are delicious carved into steak size slices and fried with butter, delish