Fat Hen

Countryfile Re-visited

Countryfile came down to film me again a couple of weeks ago. It was aired last Sunday 8th May. 

Follow this link for BBC I player to see the programme.  It'll be on i player for another week and is about 20 minutes into the hour long episode:

Caroline on BBC Countryfile

They ran a story about Japanese knotweed, how it's such a problem down here in Cornwall, and how people are treating it to get rid of it.  Then the story concluded with them saying that there's a third way of treating it and that's to EAT IT.  They came to my house and filmed Julia Bradbury helping me make some japanese knotweed and custard tarts and we took the tarts along with some japanese knotweed ripple ice cream to Sennen Beach to find brave volunteers to blind taste the tarts.  They all loved it, thought it was rhubarb and were surprised to know it was Japanese knotweed (as expected). 

If anyone is going to eat Japanese knotweed they must be armed with the knowledge of the law.  It's an offence to grow knotweed or cause it to spread in the wild.  You must not drop any pieces of knotweed for fear of it spreading and you must find out if the knotweed you want to pick has been sprayed or not.  The season for knotweed is now over.  You must pick it when it's small and looks the size of asparagus.

 

6 Course Wild Food Tasting Supper at Flinty Red

Just returned from Bristol last week after heading up there with a car full of freshly foraged ingredients for Flinty Red's Wild Food Tasting Supper.

It's the second one we've done and was a roaring success.  I did this supper in colloboration with Matt Williamson, chef of Flinty Red and Rachel Higgens, wine expert, who matched each course with an organic or biodynamic wine.

Chef extraordinaire, Matt Williamson

Wine expert and owner of independent wine shop, Corks of Cotham, Rachel Higgens (right)

This was the menu:

Deep Fried Rock Samphire & Roasted Laver Seaweed

Bloody Mary's with wild black mustard & alexanders salt

........

Elderflower Cured Trout with Wood Sorrel & Chickweed

2010 Reserve de Gassac, Mas de Daumas Gassac

.........

Fresh Hallumi & Wilted Wild Greens

(Alexanders, Fat Hen, Wild Chervil, Three cornered leek)

2007 Pinot Gris, Mochel

.........

Laver Seaweed with Clams & Pancetta

2009 Casa de Mouraz Rose

.........

Mixed Wild Leaf Salad

(Black mustard, Common Sorrel, Navelwort, Pink Purslane, Hedge Bedstraw,

Sweet Violet Leaves, Chickweed, Rock Samphire, Hairy Bittercress)

.........

Nettle Ravioli with Walnut Cream

2007 Negrette, Chateau Plaisance

.........

Carragheen Seaweed Pannacotta with Poached Japanese Knotweed

2009 Muscat de Saint-Jean de Minervois, Clos du Gravillas

 

It's likely that this will be an annual event now.  I usually display and label all the wild ingredients for everyone to see, touch and nibble and then as each course comes out I talk about the ingredients, where they come from and how we've used them in each dish.

Wild Food Samples displayed on the bar

It was great fun but I came down with a thump after losing my car key and having to pay £120 to replace it and whilst waiting for a new key got a parking ticket.....oh well, I felt a bit better after some retail therapy in Bristol's charity shops! Where there is money people give away nice clothes.  Down 'ere at Lands End the car boot sale is our department store and we wear our clothes till they are rags!!