Wild Food Larder

This recipe came about following an evening fishing a lake within a pine woodland in France. Carpeted around many of these trees were pine nuts, the species of tree being Pinus pinea or Stone pine.  After we had collected a goodly amount and eaten our glutinous share, my mind began to wander as recipe ideas came to me.

Often we would have rabbit, as then i used to snare or shoot wild rabbit for evenings spent camping. Thus came the idea of  utilising pine nuts in a recipe and thus i designed this rabbit sausage recipe.

Please try and have a go it is worth the effort although preparation time is quite long from start to finish. Alternatively if the desire to eat out competes the desire to make simply order a couple of kilos from me. Or attend Bath Farmers market each Saturday and see my range of cured and gluten free sausages.

Rabbit & toasted pine nut sausage

1 kg pork skin

3.5kg pork

2.5kg rabbit meat

200g parmesan

2 tblsp onion powder

200g toasted pine nuts

8 cloves garlic

3tsp sugar

2Tbl sp white pepper

3 tsp fennel seeds

Bunch tarragon

1 tsp cure 1#

35g salt

On such a beautiful Monday morning on the 1st June 2009 i finally got to go out and pick the first elderflower of the year.  I have been very excited and making plans for a while now as to  how much i need to make in order to make a living and, for future summer stock.

On the left you can see a mornings collection, taking about three hours and eight miles. Mollie (my dog) also enjoyed it immensely and as i write is fast asleep.When i got home i set about sterilising two 15 litre buckets with lids. I normally use Milton sterilising liquid for this as the process is simple and  relatively stress free and quick.

My recipe is for a large quantity but there are many other recipes online which are very similar and all work.

The photo on the left is everything in the bucket to be covered with a lid and refrigerated for two day or 48 hours. 24 hours can be enough but i prefer to give it that extra as i believe it benefits.

When adding the sugar to the liquid be sure to stir, boiling is not necessary. Once diluted pour onto the lemons and elderflower. Finally add the citric acid and stir.

When straining be careful and pour through a  clean piece of muslin into a sterilised bucket.

If your are wanting to keep for a long period of time it is advisable to add Cambden tablets in the correct dosage. these will help kill the natural yeasts in the flower stopping the cordial form going fizzy.

The Recipe

Elderflower Cordial

330 heads elderflower

15 l water

8 kilos sugar

28 lemons

350g citric acid

Camden tablets

I will post the finished product in a couple of days, now to get on with making champagne

When ever i get a Roe deer whether buck or doe i will always remove the shoulders first and dry cure them for a couple of days. Once dry cured and rested for a further two days in the refridgerator i slow cook them in carrier bags using a large stock pot as the water vessel.  Cooked very slowly for three to four hours, the shoulders are left to go cold in the bag, normally left until the following day.On the right it is possible to see the closed bag prior to cooking

this method is very similar to sous vide cooking, although i have not been able to remove the vaccum from the bags. the slow process is similar though as is the low temperature principal.

On opening

the bag remove all of the herbs and vegetable and spices, dispose of these. Next pour off the venison juices, you may want to use these for a gravy another  time. no meat juices should go into the finished confit.

Remove the shoulder carefully, it will want to fall apart. Remove all of the meat and into a bowl large enough to hol

d all of the meat. Throw away the bones.

Potted dry cured shoulder Venison

Part one

Half shoulder venison

6 juniper berries

½ roughly diced onion

½ bulb garlic

1 carrot

1 stick celery

3-4 fresh bay leaves

3-4 fresh sprigs rosemary

Part Two.

Ingredients

250g butter

2 tsp mace

salt and pepper to taste

50g semi dried cranberries (lightly soaked in port)

1 tsp ginger powder

Method

Melt butter in a saucepan and add all other spices.

Shred all of the venison flesh either by hand or by throwing onto blades of food processor.

Add all the now mixed spices to the meat combine.

Mould into desired shape and refridgerate.

Leave for 2-3 days before eating to allow spices and meat to blend. Bring to room temperature to serve.

I am adding this a little later in the season than i would have liked, spring being rather more bouncy this year,and has led me astray spending more time out foraging and enjoying the countryside rather than in the kitchen.

Over the years i have read and tried many varieties of nettle soup and not once have i felt that the humble nettle has been cooked to its potential. there is a train of thought when making creams soups such as nettle and watercress to use potato as a thickener. Often these gloopy starchy bowls of goo have little colour and taste only of the thickener.

I am being arrogant here i realise but then perfection is what i seek in treating a humble weed and transforming it into  something that would encourage more peole to have a go at using them.

So here is my take on a nettle soup. Feel free to have a go and do follow the recipe as it is precise and does work.

If you have any questions then do mail me.

Young Nettle soup

This recipe does not need cream as the rice will achieve creaminess without the starchiness of potato. The lemon juice will hold the colour and give a light tartness. By blanching nettles first will remove any earthy acids.

70g onion

2 tblsp extra virgin olive oil

118g Nettles blanched

70g Green leek

35g white stem of wild garlic

½Stick celery

1 litre light chicken stock

25g Arborio rice

Juice of ½ Lemon

White pepper

Sea salt

Method

1. Bring a pan of salted water to the boil and lower in the washed nettles. Cook for one minute only. Refresh in plenty of cold water, squeeze out excess water and chop finally.

2. Sauté onion, celery, white stem of garlic and leek together in olive oil

3. Add the rice and stock. Simmer very gently until rice almost cooked.

4. Time to now add the blanched nettles and continue to cook for a further five mins.

5. Liquidise soup which should still be a vibrant green. When nicely smooth and velvety add a squeeze of lemon juice white pepper and salt.

Watercress Gremolata

A good handful of watercress finely chopped

Zest of ½ Lemon

1 clove mashed garlic

Pinch black pepper

Chorizo slices fried in hot olive oil. The oil will turn red. Now flavoured Dice chorizo and top soup drizzle with oil.

It is a wonderful thing albeit for a brief time each spring when our semi ancient woodlands display carpets of wild garlic. As under foot a give away sign accosts ones nostrils, tonight we dine on  wild garlic.

Wild Garlic Pesto

I could not post about wild galric without first sharing my recipe for wild garlic pesto. I make a huge quantity of this each year and sell at a couple of local farmers markets. there are two varients which i make, one of which is a Vegan recipe.

For now however, have a go at this and then tell  me it is not one of the greatest things ever to tumble over your tongue and tickle the tonsils.

Ingredients

500g wild garlic (the whole plant, stalk,leaf and flower)

300g Toasted walnuts

1 litre olive oil (not extra virgin)

salt & milled black pepper to taste

Juice of one lemon

250g grated parmesan

Method

1. I use a mincer for the first bit, but a magimix will suffice. So blend your wild garlic and pour into a large bowl.

2. Wipe out now dirtied magimix, then whizz the hot toasted whole walnuts. Pour into bowl of wild garlic.

3. Add all other ingredients to bowl of wild garlic and walnuts and stir to emulsify.

4. Check for seasoning after a few hours, once flavors have had the time to mingle.

Andrew Sartain
Andrew Sartain

One of the great things about what i do for a living and being a chef is being able to play when ever i feel like it. For example, i have a Dehydrator which is very useful when there are gluts of fungi and wild fruits. Recently i have been drying lagre quantities of St. Georges in order to make mushroom powder. Not all fungi are suitable for this operation but these are due to their density, creamy color and incredible strong flavour.
Drying using an low oven is also possible or even an airing cupboard can be suitable. I used to use an airing cupboard only to result in mushroom smelling linen…….
Below you can see a bowl of St. George mushroom powder soup, garnished with a few croutons and a few separately cooked mushrooms.
It is a fantastic way to utilise them and i would say makes a better flavoured soup than using fresh. My opinion only of course.
To make the soup one should follow the following recipe. It is in stages as stock needs to be made first.
Mushroom stock:
500g trimmings of St.Georges.
1 onion
three fresh bayleaves (dried no good here)
sprig thyme/rosemary
half bulb garlic
parsley stalks
several black peppercorns
stick celery or alexander stems
1.5 litres cold water
Methood
Place all ingredients into a suitable saucepan and bring to a gentle simmer for 30 minutes.
Strain liquor into clean pan and reduce by half, to concentrate flavor.
Part two… The soup
2oz/50g mushroom powder
50g butter
25g flour
mushroom stock
200ml full fat milk
white pepper
salt

Method 2:
Melt butter and make a roux with the flour and powder. Begin adding the hot stock whisking as you go,alternating milk with stock.
Taste and then season, adjust according to your taste.

Method 3:
Small pieces or button St. Georges
25g butter
juice of 1/2 lemon

Melt butter and add both juice and mushroms, season with salt and white pepper and put on lid of saucepan. Cook slowly for ten minutes. This way they will keep their whiteness/creaminess.
Do as below. Enjoy tis dish it is worth the work i promise you..