Darina Allen's tips for foraging on your countryside walks
Wee Crystallised Primrose Buns: The Allens' favourite basic cupcake recipe - they can be dressed up or down depending on the occasion
Walks in the countryside have helped to keep many of us sane during these past few troubling months. At this stage we know every inch of our local area intimately, those of us who live close to the sea or a woodland feel fortunate indeed to be able to breathe in sea air and gather sea beet along by the seashore.
I’m a foraging nerd and now that Spring is definitely here, a walk takes on a whole extra dimension. I scan the hedgerows, streams, woodland and seashore for wild things to gather. There’s an abundance of fresh growth to nibble on and the young leaves of ground elder are at their best at present: eat them raw, in salads or add to a foragers soup, cook them like melted greens or make a ground elder champ. Gardeners regard ground elder as a pest — a perennial weed that re-emerges and spreads every year but, where others see weeds, I see dinner.
