Published by O’Brien Press, Wild Food is a wonderful collaboration between Evan Doyle: The BrookLodge Hotel at Macreddin Village and Biddy White Lennon: food journalist and writer.

The BrookLodge is home to The Strawberry Tree Restaurant. Its Kitchens, have been harvesting and presenting wild foods daily on its menu since 1988 and this year celebrates its twenty-fifth anniversary. The Strawberry Tree also hosts Irelands only walk in Wild-Food Pantry for its Guests, but more importantly for its Chefs!

This is the first time, that Evan Doyle has put together the knowledge and the recipes gathered from over a quarter of a century of using these wild foods.

Wild Food is a fantastic new guide to foraging which reveals the secrets of how to identify, pick, preserve and cook the most common wild foods that grow in our hedgerows and woodlands and on our hillsides and seashores. Packed with helpful tips and advice on gathering, preparing and cooking foraged foods, this combined field guide and cookbook was inspired by the growing interest in wild food and foraging in Ireland today and is the perfect introduction to harvesting nature’s bounty.

Includes:

*Where to look, what it looks like, how to pick

*A guide to foraging through the seasons: nettle, dillisk, carrageen, garlic, sea beet, samphire, St George’s mushrooms, sorrel, hawthorn, elderflower, sea lettuce, strawberries, chanterelles, bilberries, field mushrooms, blackberries, damsons, ceps, elderberries, hazelnuts, rose hips, sloes and more

*How to prepare and preserve your foraged finds

* Over 60 delicious recipe ideas, including dozens of unpublished recipes from The Strawberry Tree at The BrookLodge Hotel

* Traditional uses for common wild foods

*  Great gift ideas for family & friends and lots more

We can arrange for one to be sent to you by post, just give us a call at BrookLodge on 0402-36444 and we can pop one in the post to you.

Return to The BrookLodge Website

We like this time of year, there are welcome breaks in between the Big Annual Wild Food Harvests. The Wild Garlic has just, been reaped, and The Pantry is packed to the brim with our dark, glossy green pesto.

Now, we find ourselves just waiting for the bee’s to finish cross-pollinating The Elder Flower for the next large Wild Food Harvest, indeed it is virtually upon us. Room has been set aside in The Pantry for Elder Flower wine, champagne, cordial etc and our famous Elder Flower Fritters will do a ‘Ta Dah’ on The Strawberry Tree menu over the next few weeks.

However, this lull provides us with the opportunity to get out foraging along The Long Field for the sheer pleasure of it! All the Wild Greens are up, Wild Wood Sorrel, Penny Wort, Dandelion, Sheep Sorrel, Primrose Leaf as well as the Wild Flowers…The Wild Garlic Flower, Gorse Flower, early Herb Robert and our favourite, The Primrose.

Down on The Farm, the baby greens are not up yet. As with all farmers, Alan and Mark are very careful about when they go to plant their crops. The overall temperature of the soil and much more besides, results in the Farmer choosing the optimum time to sow.

Nature is reckless, though when it comes to Wild Foods. They are already starting to burst into full growth, it happens whenever She wants and with the hardier nature of wild greens…they arrive much sooner than the Farm Harvest.

So, Wild Greens and Wild Flowers are making welcome cameos all over The Strawberry Tree menu, whether as simple raw adornment with our Starters or Main Courses or as wild sauces, wild soups etc and The Wild Flowers have started to slip into our Dessert recipes too.

However, it is our simple Wild Green Salad, which we love best! This is an annual ‘show off’ moment. A ‘Menu Course’ that deserves a better name than just ‘A Middle’…this is a Course that makes a statement to our guests.

All The Wild Leaves, Wild Garlic flowers and Gorse flowers simply tossed in Kitty Colchesters Organic Rapeseed Oil, and topped with The Prima Donna of the Irish Spring, The Wild Primrose Flower. Its mild peppery and lettucy flavour needs no dressing. Just sprinkled and placed over the top and letting them shine, is enough for us!

Here are two of our Strawberry Tree recipes, where we show off the Wild Primrose.

A FRESH WILD LEAF AND PRIMROSE RECIPE

The Strawberry Tree Wild Leaf Salad

WHAT GOES IN

1 Handful Wild Wood Sorrel

1 Handful Wild Penny Wort

1 Handful Wild Dandelion Leaf

1 Handful Wild Sheep Sorrel

.5 Handful Wild Primrose leaf

.5 Handful Wild Garlic Leaf

Quarter cup, Happy Heart, Irish Organic Rapeseed Oil

HOW IT GOES

Simply toss these spring leaves with the rapeseed oil, no need to add seasoning; the lemony peppery taste of the sorrel and pennyworth combined with the pungent flavour of the wild garlic is enough to carry off this salad. Both The Primrose and The Dandelion are really easy for anyone to harvest, if your not sure about the Wild Greens, supplement your salad with some indoor-grown baby greens from your Green Grocer.

HOW TO FINISH

Finish to impress, toss in Wild Garlic flowers, Gorse Flowers, there’s lots out there! Finally, top off with lots of Wild Primrose Flowers.

A PRESERVED WILD PRIMROSE RECIPE

The Strawberry Tree Wild Primrose Flower Jelly

WHAT GOES IN

100 Wild Primrose petals

100 Scented early Garden Rose Petals

600g Sugar

400 mls Water

2tsp Rose Water

Juice 2 Lemons

HOW IT GOES

Put half of wild primrose flowers and all rose petals into a bowl. Sprinkle over half the sugar and crush into flowers, leave over night in the fridge. Pour over boiling water and infuse for a second night.

Strain, combine with lemon juice and remaining sugar, heat gently in a pan to dissolve sugar. Bring to rapid boil until setting point (3-5 minutes or 106 degrees). Remove. As it cools, stir in the rose water. Pour into sterilised Kilner Jars. Just before setting, fold in the remaining fresh primrose flowers, seal.

HOW TO FINISH

Finish with roast baby lamb either in the jus/gravy, finish as an accompaniment to a fresh goats cheese, with any white chocolate dessert or a light sweet mousse or blancmange.

WHAT YOU GET

Is a fabulous tinted jelly, great on its own, but perfect as a gift to your friends or family

The Wild Foods year really starts to get into the swing, when Wild Elderflower arrives.

With recipes including Elderflower Champagne and Wine, the attached Wild Elderflower template includes everything you need to know about what it looks like, where to find it and pick it, and how to prepare and preserve it.

Return to BrookLodge website