The wild garlic is abundant and early this year, ideal for celebrating a Mother’s Day Feast with Hampshire lamb and Barfoots Asparagus. Add some little roast potatoes for the perfect seasonal menu. Wild garlic is versatile, so you can use it in a marinade, sauce or as a veggie side … Read More
Foraging is limited at this time of year, as are locally grown vegetables — it’s traditionally known as the “Hungry Gap”. Yet one ingredient thrives precisely in these cold, damp conditions: the frost-tolerant Wood ear. You’ll find it growing on decaying elder trunks and fallen branches. True to its name, … Read More
Every few years when the conditions are perfect, the woods produce a glut of the most glorious food: Porcini mushrooms (also known as Cep in French or Penny Bun in England). The heavy rains after a dry summer stir the subterranean world into action, and the mycellium networks that weave … Read More
It’s all starting again, lots of wonderful local produce arriving at the door direct from growers and farmers, with the asparagus coming direct from Slade Farm near Rogate, and delicious plump strawberries from Westlands near Wickham. Raspberries will be following soon… Isle of Wight tomatoes have the full array of … Read More
April is the changing of the seasons and there are some unusual and different seasonal foods that you are unlikely to find on supermarket shelves, including foraged and wild. British crops are suffering from the ‘Hungry Gap’ as the winter veg comes to an end, and there are 4-6 weeks … Read More
We have a few packs of wild wood pigeon available this week which is unusual as they are quite hard to get hold of. Pigeon is delicious, more like a small tender steak than poultry, and with a flavour that holds up well against robust sauces. Here’s a good recipe … Read More
This year you can find some of the plumpest, juiciest blackberries I’ve ever seen in the hedgerows. The combination of sunshine and rain has at least been appreciated by the berries, at the expense of the British holidaymakers. Now is the time to take advantage of this berried treasure, with … Read More
This recipe is ideal for spring veg (especially asparagus) and elderflowers, but you can also add mushrooms, onion slices, pepper or whatever veg looks freshest. Elderflowers are popping up throughout our hedgerows and the flowers seem particularly fragrant after some good sunshine. Pick the heads whole, give them a quick … Read More
Venison is back in season and blackberries are back in the hedgerows, but the last of the summer sunshine makes this an ideal BBQ dish if you want to cook outside. You could also use elderberries, but if you don’t have time to forage, then you can substitute either with … Read More
Another great local supplier has popped up in Hambrook. Roger has started growing Oyster Mushrooms using straw and used coffee grounds from an Emsworth cafe as his substrate. The mycelium grows into the substrate log in a dark, warm room for 3-4 weeks, before being moved into a light, high … Read More
St Georges Mushrooms have started to appear nearly a month late. They are so-called as they tend to pop up on St Georges day, but with last month’s drought and cold, they very sensibly stayed tucked up in bed until it got a bit warmer. They grow in pastures and … Read More
This is such a simple dish, the trick is to cook the mushrooms right and be extremely generous with the garlic. Chestnut, button, or large flat mushrooms are great, and we also have a mix of more exotic mushrooms from the New Forest which include yellow and pink oyster mushrooms, … Read More