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Winter Foraging in the UK
To balance my sedentary workday writing, I like to get out and forage for different ingredients to use in the kitchen. Each season has something delicious, but knowing what you can pick and when takes a little research and maybe some help from friends. Social media foraging groups can be a great help. Wintertime seems like an unlikely time to find free food growing in the hedgerows but there’s still a lot to gather from different landscapes.
Winter greens
As the dark cold of the short winter days stretch out before us, it can feel like foraging days are over for a few months. Even though the abundance of spring seems as far into the future as a sci-fi romance, you can still find some colour for your plate.
Pennywort is found low to the ground, in dry stone walls and damp crevices across the UK. Also known as navelwort or by its botanical name Umbilicus rupestris, this plant flowers in summer, but it’s the leaves and stems you’re looking for. These have a fresh flavour, a little like a slightly peppery cucumber. They’re good for using with ginger, chillies, and lemongrass making them perfect for chucking into a stir fry as something a little different.
Dead nettles, not to be confused with actual dead stinging nettles, have also finished flowering by now. Unlike their stinging sister, they’re easy to pick. However…
