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.
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…
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…
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