- REPORT: Wild Food Walk - Recipes


NETTLE PORRIDGE

Salted meat (or salted fish)
2-3 cups nettle leaves – young
1 tbspn oatmeal
Water
Salt

The following recipe is inspired by one for Nettle Haggis in an 1897 book entitled The Lancashire Cookery Book.


Fry the meat until very crisp (though depends on preference). Remove meat from pan, chop small, and set aside. Put nettles in a pan with some water, bring to boil an cook til tender. Drain nettles, but reserve cooking water Put cooked nettles in frying pan and add approx ½ cup of cooking water. Bring to boil and stir in oatmeal. Allow to cook for 10 minutes (adding m ore water if necessary – though exact consistency of porridge will depend on personal preference and season to taste. Serve with meat or fish scattered over.


NETTLE AND APPLE SOUP

2 cups nettle leaves – young
1 medium large cooking apple – peeled, sliced
Fat
½ pint stock
1 -2 tbspn cream

Very finely chop the green nettles. Put in little fat in bottom of pan and heat. Add sliced apple and nettle leaves and cover the pan Cook on a moderately low heat until the contents have begun to soften. Stir in vegetable stock, raise heat to rolling simmer and cook for 10 – 15 minutes. Remove from heat Sitr in cream and warm through.


CHICKWEEK AND BREAD TORTILLA

1 slice of thin bread diced
1 -2 cups chickweed – roughly chopped
2 eggs beaten
Salt
Fat


Although this is using what is a very soft salad green as the source of veggies, the recipe could apply to tender young fat-hen, nettle or similar wild greens. The bread should preferably be a little dry but certainly not stale.

Beat the eggs in a container and add the chickweed. Add a pinch of salt, then the diced bread and mix together well. Heat a little fat in a shallow pan then add egg mixture. Cook gently until the tortilla had almost set then take off the heat. Place a plate on top of the pan and flip the tortilla onto the plate, then slide back into the pan. Cook the other side for 4-5 minutes, or until the tortilla is fully set. Once cooked remove pan from the heat and slide the tortilla onto a plate and allow to cool.


NETTLE AND POTATO CURRY

1 medium to large potato cubed
1 carrot sliced
2 – 3 cups nettles young
Butter or oil
½ tspn green thai curry paste
½ tspn grated ginger
½ cup coconut cream
1 lime
Salt and pepper

Boil the potato pieces until just beginning to soften then remove from heat. Similarly cook carrots. Pour boiling water over the nettles and allow to steep for a couple of minutes. Drain, squeeze out excess water, set aside.

Heat some oil in a frying pan and cook the curry paste and ginger gently for couple of minutes. Stir in coconut cream and allow to boil. Add the vegetables and mix thoroughly. Reduce the heat and cook for a further 3 to 4 minutes Add a squeeze of lime juice and seasoning and stir Serve with a main meat dish or as a veggie dish.


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