Since coming across this wild plant for the first time whilst foraging in Hampstead with Chris from Ipso-Phyto, and being ever so excited that I hadn’t known about it before and how wonderfully healthy and also tasty it was, harbouring none of that horrid bitterness you quite often get with foraged plants, I have been feeling an enduring sense that I must oh-so-casually come across it again. A five mile round walk in Sidmouth, and I didn’t spot a single specimen. The notion of unexpectedly stumbling across this plant, as I had rather envisaged, and reveling in delight at knowing what it was, just has not happened. I feel rather downcast that a trip to Devon didn’t result in any ‘purse gathering, but also appreciative of the fact I didn’t get out into the wider ether of wild Devonshire lands due to a rather restrictive albeit very enjoyable schedule of seeing friends and family during a fleeting two day visit. On the train journey back, whilst inspecting my I-phone snaps, and though gloomy at ‘purses absence alongside my bag of mixed berries (haw, sloe, black & hip), I felt a sense of certain excitement that upon arrival back at the Wandsworth Ranch, I could head out onto the fields of the Common, and seek out the elusive purse. To top this off, I spied some rather innocuously growing on a nearby empty track when the train pulled into one of the many stops, rather annoyingly out of reach!

  Any forager in the know will tell you that this ‘weed’, is in fact very common, so goodness knows my strife. Quite possibly I was drunk in Devon and couldn’t see those diminutive heart shaped leaves just feet in front of my face. I’ll not know.  At least until next week when I head down and cover the same turf again, and even some wider more exhaustive terrain to see exactly what other odds and sods I can gather.

Back to the Common, on my walk home from work today, I didn’t come across any either.  I did however stumble right across an untapped mini field area of sloes so gathered those to my hearts content to appease the gathering need. Rely on London to sort you out when you firmly believed you had fallen short.

I also found this rather fabulous photograph of a spread out specimen on a really great and interesting looking website – http://wildcraftvita.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/shepherds-purse-sauce-capsella-bursa.html

So as promised, a couple of blog posts ago, here are some recipes, the first of which I’m starting today. I plan to use it in exactly the same way I have ever used any foraged herb, which is simply to use it in place of a green I would otherwise have bought from the supermarket, but with a touch of smugness knowing it’s totally organic, healthy and free.

Stir Fry Ready Salted Shepherd’s Purse

1)   Chop the Shepherd’s Purse into bitesize pieces

2)   Cover liberally with Salt and leave to stand overnight. This will extract a lot of the juices and leave you with a product that will fry with finesse.

Use like the Chinese and add to Chinese food, Stir Frys, Dumplings, Wontons etc.

Or replace more standard greens with these just generally.

Make an omelette, saute as a side, or dress up nicely and add to a salad.

The heart shaped leaves are just so pretty so why not dry these out, oven bake them on a low heat and sprinkle with Maldon Sea Salt for a lighter and very beautiful crunch to a salad. 

The possibilities are endless.

Simply Raw Shepherd’s Purse
Since it’s all edible, and as mentioned above tends to not have any of that bitterness often associated with foraged greens, simply clean it up, chop it to your fancy and go straight ahead and eat it raw. In salads, or as a herb to garnish endless other dishes. 

As the medicinal benefits of the ‘purse are considered pretty high, and because traditionally it was used to prevent bleeding, I’m going to go straight out there and assert that it must be a pretty good thing to eat, especially if you suffer from Lady Problems. It’s also been said to help with fever. Fundamentally, we know it contains a wide range of vitamins and minerals, all essential to our daily diets and since it is also very tasty, in a radish / cabbage like way, I am very happy to know about and use this plant in my diet. Bonus points for the heart shaped leaves making the 14th February a walk in the park…    

What might you expect to find when foraging in London? Some half eaten pizzas, chicken bones, rotten veg perhaps. Not if you know what you're looking for. And really, we ought to know a little more of the world around us. After all, we are a small country, in the grand global scheme of things, and we are facing essentially quite chronic annual growth in population and problems of thus feeding the world. Basic sustenance starts at home, if we understand what we can eat; we can source basic sustenance and locate those all important anti-carcinogenics and super foods we so persistently hear all about. This is not  to say we can rely on looking at the world around us and finding foods to complete our diet, it's that we shouldn't be ignoring a world of produce that is wild, natural and with potentially incredible health benefits. Why not know more about the incredible produce of our home land? If something is grown in the land around you, then it's provenance is known, we can better control it's background and we can hope it's going to taste a whole lot better too. How exciting to know something you can't buy in the supermarket is going to help your next meal taste fabulous, if you know what you're looking for. Wild herbs and plants have incredible new flavours, or rather perhaps they aren't even new, they just haven't been used in common place food before or for a very long time. Since the advent of supermarkets, lets face it, we were bound to become lazy....

We hear all about the incredible health benefits of goji berries and acai, but we don't always consider what is lost when these products are shipped from across the ocean, in terms of nutrients and also more generally in terms of sustainability and the many modern day considerations we should be taking into account when it comes to food and, well, just about everything really. If we can get the same nutrients and amazing health benefits from British grown produce, then surely we really should educate ourself and start looking at our own front doorstep. It's all perfectly fresh and untravelled, healthy and has all the medicinal benefits that botanical advocates have known about for years. 

Above, we found Shepherd's Purse, a member of the cabbage or umbellifer family, recognisable by it's heart shaped pods. It's worth noting though that all pods can be different, as they are the seeds, which can change. They will always though spiral round the stem in a distinct manner. The flowers are yellow or white. With every wild plant, as Chris, the expert forager informed us, smell the plant first. Every time. It's this that you will help you best identify and verify a plant. You will recognise the sulphurous cabbage smell in this case. Shepherd's purse has been historically used for staunching wounds and for lady time. In the instance of the women's monthly blight, take the root and leaves and steep in hot water to serve as tea. 

The next edible we came across was the great Ash Tree. Interestingly, a relative of the Olive. What the Ash Tree delivers is sets of edible fruits called 'keys'. In Spring these are green and soft and we can brine or pickle them to preserve them for the winter or use them as a very British component of an antipasti style smorgasbord. Chris our lead forager pickled some in a blackberry vinegar which were terrific. Out at Noma, we would collect young beech leaves and treat these in the same way, and later dehydrate them and sometimes cover with Cep or other flavoursome powders to garnish a plate. There was a Duck dish in partiular where these featured heavily. I would like to experiment with Ash Keys and perhaps use them in a similar fashion. 

Onto Jack By The Hedge.

Another member of the Brassica family. Otherwise known as Hedge Garlic. Isn't it such a shame that more people don't use these flavoursome alternatives in every day food? Use the stem of the leaf in the Spring, it can be a lot less bitter. The leaf is garlicky in flavour but it does leave you with a slightly bitter after taste, however, what always springs to mind for me when you have food like this one, is use it in cooking, and mask the bitterness with flavours that will balance it out. Go Asian and play around with Ginger, Chilli and Lemongrass. For sweetness there are all sorts of sweetening agents you could add to level things out, depending on the dish and your mood. I'm going to devise a recipe for this one and post it when tested, as I think it's such a fantastic herb, it needs to be elevated. 

In America, they often use the root of jack by the hedge - as it has a pungency similar to horseradish, it also notably has large white flowers, white like many of the other brassicas. The seeds have a mustardy type heat, and it's worth noting that all parts of this plant are edible. Wonderful. 

As a word of reassurance to those out there thinking, what if a dog has relieved itself on this plant I just found? Well, if a dog has done it's business on a plant, it's going to be pretty darned obvious. The leaves will have discoloured or they may be mottled or brown. Like any food, look at it first, if it looks healthy, then the odds are in your favour. Don't pick something if it looks brown or soiled...

Hawthorn Berries. 

As I write this in September, Hawthorn berries are absolutely abundant. You will see them everywhere you go, all around London. Completely edible and completely useful in the same way as other common berries. They are apple-ey in texture and can sometimes be a little bland. Go for the darker ones if you can, for flavour. They are completely full of anti-oxidants and goodness. Hawthorn berries have long been used as a medicinal treatment for ailments of the heart. See this link for plenty of useful information. They really are quite incredible in terms of their uses, as a berry goes, and it's on our own doorstep; it's free and it hasn't travelled halfway across the world. I can't emphasis this point enough! It's just so important and exciting to get involved with what we already have available to us, rather than jumping on board the overseas and imported superfood trend, we've got them all right here! Just don't eat the seed... it's full of cyanide and we don't want that.

Hawthorn berries are always smaller on wild plants, like in the picture above, but domestically they can get to the size of a cherry and become much more peachy in texture and taste. 

Next on the foraging agenda, is Roses. Classic roses. All are identified by their oval shaped leaves which will have the distinct serrations running along the edges. They also always have five petals. So at this time of year, we see an absolute abundance of Rosehips. They're not typically 'ready' until October and generally are always better after a frost. There is an exception though, as there really always is, there will always be variation. Hedgerow roses have larger rose hips which can be ready sometimes in August. And guess what, onto the health benefits, they contain on average sixty times more vitamin C than oranges! Bonkers! So go grab a load of rose hips I say and crack onto a batch of rose hip brandy. If the hips aren't ripe, you can score them to allow the extraction for the brandy or oil production process, just make sure to separate these from the ripe ones so you can differentiate between what kind of intensity of flavour you are getting. I'm going to post a bundle of recipes for everything I've mentioned in this blog over the course of the next week, as I simply don't have the time right now to get everything on here. In short however, you can make a rose hip syrup by layering the hips with sugar and allowing to sit for 6 months and you will end up with an amazing rose scented and flavoured pink syrup. Done now, this will be absolutely perfect for cocktails come next spring and summer.

Alexanders. 

This plant which flowers in the Spring with clusters of yellow green flowers is a Mediterranean plant brought here by the Romans. They referred to it as the pot of alexandria as every part of it was edible. It has a celery, fennel like plavour, which sometimes can be bitter and more in the aniseed range. A little bit lovage-esq. It's stems can be lightly steamed and eaten like asparagus, the leaves can be treated like any other leaf and ether eaten raw as part of a salad or cooked as part of a full range of dishes. When the Alexanders are a new growth, they are tender and tasty, so this is worth being aware of. You could take the flowers and infuse these in olive oil. The seeds are very much like pepper in texture, but more aromatic, and you could treat these in the same way as pepper or any other spice. If you roast them then the  flavour mellows and you get rid of the more volatile parts. 

We next came across the Evergreen Tree whose seeds are much like mini acorns, and these when they are a good size are tender and edible straight off the tree. Imagine treating these like a nut and with the correct amount of roasting, oil and salt, what an interesting snack. 

Greater Plantain is something I very much always considered a weed, it's just so common. The greater plantain likes compact ground; think parks and commons. When all the flowers are out on the stems that pop out of the middle of the plants, then take the top of this stem, usually in April to July, which is the flowering season, and you get a really strong mushroom taste coming through. Chris the forager explained to us how he makes a really fantastic dip made by beating the stem with egg yolks, then beating egg whites, adding lemon juice, S & P and other seasonings and it tastes like a cracking and very conversation worthy mushroom dip. 

Salad Burnet, to the right, is a leaf, that can be eaten raw, and can be harvested throughout the winter, which is good to know. The stem can get a little tough, so the tip of the plant is generally best. The leaves have a slight cucumbery taste. This is a herb that we used a lot out at noma, more often as decoration, as it is a very attractive leaf with it's reddish stem. 

Now, onto some exciting stuff. 

Wild Carrot

Wild Carrot is  part of the umbellifer family, which means it has distinct characteristics which can help us recognise it as being carrot and not anything more sinister. If you look under it's head it has little branched bracks exactly under the base of the flower. When the flower is done, it folds up into a 'birds nest' like in the picture below. It is also a hairy type of plant, so feel it's stem to make sure. These traits make it easy to identify.

The root is very carroty. The seeds are very aromatic - they are officially awesome. You just have to eat them raw to discern a totally unique and incredibly distinct flavour. You're not going to get this flavour elsewhere - it's totally one hundred precent unique. Again, treat this like any other spice and roast it to release the aromatics. It's a new spice for the larder. I'm so excited about this plant and it's amazing flavour and want to experiment with it a lot. The whole plant is edible, some people make a jelly from the flowers with lemon juice which turns pink, which again is exciting and another one to experiment with!

So, the words of caution when it comes to picking any umbellifers. Hemlock, the most deadly umbellifer,  is quite fatal. Hemlock doesn't have any hairs. There is often a red spot in the middle of the flower and 99% of the time there are red spots on the stem. Hemlock also smells a little like urine - fetid. Carrot on the other hand is nicely scented, and as we had heavily pointed out to us by Chris the lead forager, ALWAYS smell everything. It's going to confirm to you that what you have found, is what you think you have found, and could keep you very much alive. It's basics really, and the same principle applies to everything we put in our mouth. 

The Oxeye Daisy is essentially a large daisy. normal small daisy's are edible, as is the oxeye. It's stems are commonly used in asia as chop-suey greens. 

All Thistle's are edible. Obviously you just have to get rid of the spikes and spines, so a hardy pair of gloves are advised. The mid-rib in particular can be good - perhaps to use as a crudite, or as any other green stem. 

Another handy benefit is that they are pretty good for our livers too so may well make up for the excess rose hip brandy consumption. 

Wild Oats, commonly sold by Neils Yard and other health stores for it's health related benefits. The straw of these oats is considered to be a relaxant. Chop up the straw and brew it in hot water for tea and it's a great bevvy to have pre-bed to send you off into a deep slumber. What it essentially does is work on the central nervous system, as a whole, and it's benefits are considered high.

Sorrel, of course. Everyone loves sorrel. A restaurant staple. Serve it with lobster, in fact all seafood. It's citrusy notes cut through and complement a number of dishes just perfectly. Dinner by Heston serve it with their lobster dish, it featured heavily on Noma's menu and Simon Rogan is well renowned for using it in his restaurants. In fact, it's incredibly common place these days, and there are plenty of varieties to keep us occupied. Buckler Sorrel, Wood Sorrel, Wild Sorrel, Micro Sorrel... 
It is recognisable by it's arrow shaped leaves.

The Common Lime Tree whose buds have a great crunch, so toast or fry these off and go from there. 

The Blackthorn tree, whose berries look like blueberries. Word of warning - don't let the thorns puncture you though as you are  quite likely to get septicaemia. Stay safe. But once you've got hold of those little buggers, I mean berries, you can go make a great gin, or a jam. You do however need cold winters for this plant to thrive; luckily for us, we've had no shortage of these. The berries on their own are incredibly dry and astringent so you probably don't want to go snacking on these as you pick, but with a little work, it is certainly worth the effort for the much rewarded beverages and preserves you can inevitably go on to create. 

Ribwort plantain, above, is recognisable by the raised ribs on the back of its leaves. like greater plantain, it's flower heads have a mushroom taste. This is a useful plant as it's incredibly good too for wasp stings or for staunching blood. It acts as an antiseptic, astringent and demulcent agent. 

Wood Avens, Clove Root, or Herb Bennett, is a member of the rose family. Not only does it have a long list of medicinal qualities, including helping diarrhoea, but if you take it's roots, then these have a very clove like flavour and therefore are useful for infusing to extract this, and potentially help stop unwanted other things going on... 

There are  so many other things to find in England, and in London, these are just a few which go to show that maybe we should get to know the world around us just that bit better. So many plants are so common place, like dandelions, which we all know and recognise, that are fully edible, and good for us, and in fact are used in lots and lots of restaurants right now. The root roasted is good, boil it for about 4 minutes first, then peel the skin off and roast it, in butter of course. It becomes really sweet and good to eat. In Spring, the root is even sweeter as it converts its storage carbohydrates into a sweeter root. 

I'm going to post recipes for these plants, some I already know, and some to be the product of experimentation. It really is completely fascinating to think this is the world around us, and there's so much to learn. It is completely exciting.