Recipe
for :
This
recipe for Pickled Marsh Samphire comes from Dyfed Lloyd
Evans.
Dyfed
runs the Celtnet
Recipes recipe site with recipes from all corners
of the globe. You can find more information about marsh
samphire and further recipes at the Marsh Samphire information
page on the Celnet Recipes site - click
here. You can find far more recipes for wild ingredients
on the Celtnet Wild Food recipes page - click
here.
Marsh samphire (Salicornia spp), also known
as Glasswort and Sea Asparagus is a succulent salt-tolerant
herbaceous plant that grows in salt marshes and on beaches.
It is in season between June and August, but is best
early in the season, before it flowers. The plant is
famous in Norfolk, where pickled samphire has been served
as a bar-top nibble for many years. Recently samphire
has begun to appear on the menus of trendy restaurants.
Mainly as a garnish though increasingly as an integral
part of fish and seafood dishes.
The use of marsh samphire in trendy restaurants has
made this a prince amongst wild foods and has introduced
many people to the delights of foraging. Yet few people
know how to make the best of marsh samphire itself.
The first essential is to pickle the plant, to make
the most of its short season.
Ingredients
for Pickled Marsh Samphire
1.4kg marsh samphire shoots
300g salt
800ml white pickling vinegar
How
to make Pickled Marsh Samphire
- This
is best made with young marsh samphire, gathered in
July (before the plant flowers).
- Trim
the samphire and remove any woody stems then break
into 5cm length pieces.
- Lay
in the base of a dish and sprinkle with salt.
- Allow
to marinate for 24 hours then wash the salt off.
- Dry
the samphire then place in a pan with just enough
vinegar to flavour.
- Bring
to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook for 2 minutes.
- Pour
into cleaned and sterilized jars that have been warmed
in an oven set to 80°C.
- Seal
and store until needed.
Dyfed
Lloyd Evans
www.celtnet.org.uk/recipes
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