I’ve been out and about this week, taking advantage of the lovely weather to do a spot of foraging. I am pleased to say that I have found Sea lettuce at Eliza’s Cove, Bertha’s and Cape Pembroke. Seaweed has made a bit of a culinary comeback of late. When I was a child growing up on the west of Ireland I only ever remember it as a very unappetising brown sludge but then all my Grandmother’s cooking was like that so it’s no reason not to give it a second chance. You will be glad to hear that there are no poisonous seaweeds in the world but some look and taste better than others. Sea lettuce is easy to recognize as it looks like lettuce, has a ruffled edge and is vivid green. Collect it, give it a quick rinse and then immerse it in equal parts of water and white wine vinegar and leave in the fridge for a day or two. It is delicious with Salmon or any oily fish as it holds its colour, shape and texture and cuts through fishy fattiness as would a caper or a gherkin. Also, like all seaweeds it’s packed with essential minerals and vitamins.
A bit closer to home in Stanley there are so many edible leaves and flowers that we can use to prettify salads. I like to throw a handful of gorse flowers or marigold to add colour and I use young dandelion leaves and the tender shoots of plantain to add hints of flavour.
Dandelion by the way comes from the French words ‘Dente de Lion’ the teeth of the Lion which, if you look at the leaves, makes perfect sense.
One thing I was delighted to see growing wild in town is Three Cornered Leek. It’s the same family as garlic and onions and has a pretty white flower. I haven’t got a clue how it got here but it seems to be doing very well. I use the flowers as edible decoration and the leaves and stalks I make it in to Pesto. Add a few bunches to olive oil, a handful of toasted pine nuts and some parmesan and blitz it until it has the same consistency of the basil pesto that you would buy in the shops. It’s fabulous added to cream to make a pasta sauce or to breadcrumbs to make a crust for fish. It also works as a drizzle in soups or as a dressing for salads or vegetables. I first discovered it, many years ago, when working on a boat in Norway. The skipper would add it to wild garlic and make a sauce that he used to call “Viking Viagra†I have no idea how well it worked, I’ll let you do your own research. All the allium family are known to be wonderful for cleansing the blood and I am sure many of us will benefit from that in the New Year!
www.penguin-news.com
