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Send to friendWelcome aperitif
Elderflower Champagne
Elderflowers from Newport environs
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Sea Purcelain soda bread
Kelp Bloomer
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Lovage cured St Dogmaels’ wild salmon, nettle blini, herbed crème fraiche
Herbs from Llys Meddyg Garden
Nettles gathered from along the Newport estuary
Wild Salmon caught by Len Walters of St. Dogmaels
Sea Purslane from Newport estuary
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Hand picked mussel and rock samphire soup
Mussels picked from Fishguard Harbour
Rock samphire from Pwll Gwaelod
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Rosehip and sweet Sicely sorbet
Rosehips and Sweet Sicely from Brynberian hedgerow
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Roast belly of wild boar, salty caramel, sea spinach
Wild Boar reared at Trehale Farm, Mathry
Sea Spinach from Newport estuary & Pwll Gwaelod
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Wild strawberries pavlova, Bethesda clotted cream ice cream, crystallized hedgerow flowers
Wild strawberries from Newport Castle grounds
Hedgerow flowers from around Newport
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More about the wild ingredients
Elder (Sambucus nigra) Elder Flowers and Elder Berries have long been used in the English countryside for making many homemade drinks and preserves that are almost as great favourites now as in the time of our great-grandmothers. The berries make an excellent home-made wine and winter cordial, which improves with age, and taken hot with sugar, just before going to bed, is an old-fashioned and well established cure for a cold. The flowering period only lasts for about three weeks in June.
Sea spinach or sea beet (Beta vulgaris) Common on seashores around the British Isles except Scotland. This is the ancestor of most, if not all of the cultivated varieties of beet, from Swiss chard to beetroot. It was eaten in Prehistoric times and later the Romans used it to feed both animals and men. Picked from May to December and cooked as you would spinach, it has an extremely pleasant flavour.
Sorrel (Rumex acetosa) A common and useful wild herb, sorrel can be picked almost all year round. It is sour and lemony and used to be eaten at hay-making time to quench the thirst. It is used for salads, soups and sauces and can be used as a substitute for rennet.
Sweet cicely (Myrrhis odorata) All parts of this plant can be used, leaves in salads, soups and stews. The root may be boiled like parsnips as they did in the 16th Century and eaten with vinegar and oil, when it was said to be ‘…very good for old people that are dull’. However it also has said about it ‘….it comforteth the heart and increaseth their lust and strength.’ The black shiny seeds can be popped into salads, and ground up can be used as a furniture polish! The leaves can be added to stewed gooseberries to cut down on the amount of sugar used.
Rock samphire (Crithmum maritimum) Found on rocks and cliffs, it was dangerous for those who had to climb to collect it. Shakespeare’s Edgar in King Lear said ‘Half-way down, Hangs one that gathers samphire; Dreadful trade.’ It may be used raw in salads, cooked as a vegetable or pickled.
Rosehips (Rosa canina) These are the orangey-red fruits left after the flowers have disappeared from the wild rose or dog rose. They were used to make a syrup that was given to children during and after the last war to ensure they were getting enough vitamin C as it contains 20 times that of oranges. The hairy seeds were used by school children to put down the back of clothes as a home made itchy powder! The skins of the hips are sweet and taste a bit like apples, and can be nibbled on after the seeds are removed.
Lovage (Levisticum officinale) Garden Lovage is one of the old English herbs that was formerly very generally cultivated, and is still occasionally cultivated as a sweet herb, and for the use in herbal medicine of its root, and to a less degree, the leaves and seeds. The leafstalks and stem bases were formerly blanched like celery, but as a vegetable it has fallen into disuse. The roots and fruit are aromatic and stimulant, and in herbal medicine they are used in disorders of the stomach and feverish attacks. The leaves can be eaten as salad, or infused dry as a tea.
Nettle (Urtica urens) From a culinary point of view the Nettle has an old reputation. It makes a healthy vegetable, easy of digestion. The young tops should be gathered when 6 to 8 inches high. Gloves should be worn to protect the hands when picking them. They should be washed in running water with a stick and then put into a saucepan, dripping, without any added water, and cooked with the lid on for about 20 minutes. Then chopped, rubbed through a hair-sieve and either served plain, or warmed up in the pan again, with a little salt, pepper and butter, or a little gravy, and served with or without poached eggs. They thus form a refreshing dish of spring greens, which is slightly laxative. In autumn, however, Nettles are hurtful, the leaves being gritty from the abundance of crystals (cystoliths) they contain.
Sea Purslane (Halimione Portulicoides) Sea Purslane has a beautiful, natural salty flavour which, when picked young makes an excellent addition to salads and seafood dishes. It can be found on salt marshes throughout the year and nice leaves can be picked at any time. Use sparingly when a salty back note is required. Larger leaves can be blanched in boiling water or wilted down in cream or butter.
Wild Strawberry (Fragaria Vesca) The Wild Strawberry not only bears delicious fruits but also has been used medicinally. The fruit is beneficial for the treatment of fever, rheumatism and gout. The fruit can apparently be used cosmetically to lighten freckles, soothe sunburn and whiten teeth. The leaves are used as a tea substitute and are a good source of vitamin C and generally aid the digestive process.
Wild Strawberry is a member of the Rose family and closely related to the Blackberry and Raspberry. This perennial herb occurs naturally throughout the Northern Hemisphere and grows on woodland edges, hedgerow banks and grasslands where a little moisture and sunshine are present.
A note on foraging:
Be respectful to the plant and never pull the plant up by the root and it will continue to live, grow and provide.
Thank you to the following friends and family for helping us to forage for produce and for their knowledge:
Alison Batt
Derek Lewis from 1st Leaf in Brynberian
Erica & Justin
The Buick family
Atunake (& Henry Sears for playing the violin)
Siobhan & Jamie Ash
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