Michelle Darmody: Delicious lemon and elderflower cake
Lemon and elderflower cake
If you are lucky enough to have a garden, some of these plants may start providing you with a spring bounty over the next month or so. Young nettles and wild garlic have many uses. Wild garlic in particular can be used in salads or made into a pesto. Elderflowers appear as big fluffy white fronds on the branches of the elder tree.
When picking nettles make sure to only harvest the very young, green shoots. The older leaves are tougher and can have laxative properties. As with picking any wild foods it is advisable to pick well away from roads or anywhere someone might have sprayed fertiliser or weedkiller. Later in the year when the nettles go to seed, you collect the seeds which are good for boosting energy and can be sprinkled onto breakfast cereals or yogurts. You will need to hang the harvested nettles up to dry. And once they are completely papery, rub them in your hands until the seeds break away — you can then pass them through a sieve or colander to separate them from any dried leaves.
