In The Forager's Kitchen Handbook, expert forager and cook Fiona Bird shares the knowledge she has gained from years of gathering food from the land.
Whether you live in a large city, in open countryside or by the coast, if you open your eyes and follow Fiona Bird's advice, you will find more ingredients growing in the wild than you could imagine. Each chapter focuses on a different food type – Flowers and Blossom, Woodland and Hedgerow, Fruits and Berries, Herbs, and Sea and Shore – and includes useful information about where to find it, how to forage and gather it, and how to use it. And once you have brought your bounty home, there are more than 100 recipes for you to try. If you love baking, try the carrot and clover cake, wild hazelnut shortbread or sea lettuce madeleines. Make the most of a hedgerow glut by making honeysuckle jelly or quince and wild thyme sorbet. Try a food-for-free main course of chanterelle puffs or wild mussels steamed with dandelions, or a quick snack of garlic mustard, chickweed and tomato bruschetta. Or indulge your sweet tooth with wild berry and herb marshmallows or a wild cherry panna cotta. Armed with this handbook, head off to the great outdoors and you will be amazed by the sheer quantity of food that is available for free.