Sweet

This role petal jam preserves fleeting summer days. With the delicate hint of wild rose sweetness, it provides a sugary floral delight to sweet treats.

Serving suggestions: This aromatic jam is best enjoyed with plain, less overpowering breads and scones, as the taste will be overshadowed by strong flavours such as gingerbread or cinnamon.

Makes – 1 jar 

Foraged Ingredients

• Wild rose petals – roughly a litre jug or 10 lightly packed handfuls. All variations and types of roses are edible but not all will taste good. The rule is if the rose smells good it will likely taste good too.

Other Ingredients

• 1 litre of water
• 200g of caster sugar
• 1 tsp pectin*
• 1 tbsp lemon juice

Note on Pectin: Fruit pectin – a soluble fiber – is typically used as a thickener in cooking and baking. While it has medicinal applications – particularly related to digestion – Pectin is best known for turning watery concoctions into luscious jams and jellies. It functions much like gelatin, but instead of animal-origin collagen, it is extracted from citrus fruit peels. It is available at all major UK stores in sachet or bottle form, usually in the baking section.

Method

1. First things first – sterilise any jars you will use to store the jam. You can do this either by boiling them in hot water in a pan or by cleaning them and putting them in the oven while still wet at 160 degrees for 10 minutes.

2. Prepare the petals: carefully pluck the wild rose petals from the flowers, ensuring to discard any stems or green parts as they are not edible.

3. In a large pan, combine the rose petals, water, and caster sugar. Gently simmer the mixture over low heat for approximately 10-15 minutes, letting the rose petals wilt down. Turn off the heat and leave the mixture to steep for 10-15 minutes.

4. During this time, the rose petals may lose their vibrant colour. Don’t let this alarm you, as it will be restored later on in the recipe.

5. Next, introduce a tablespoon of lemon juice into the pan. This addition will not only enhance the flavour, but also restores the vivid colour of the rose petals.

6. Turn the heat back on. Add the pectin to help thicken the jam. Simmer gently for 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently, until it reaches the desired setting point (see our expert’s tip below). Remember the jam will thicken as it cools.

7. Turn off the heat and allow the jam to cool slightly before transferring it into a sterilised jar. The cooling process helps the jam to set properly, ensuring a luscious texture.

8. Store the jar in the refrigerator once open, like any other jam.

Expert’s Tip

Finding the “setting point” – or how to tell if your jam is ready – is often tricky for beginners. We recommend taking out a spoonful of jam from the saucepan and setting it on a cold plate for 30 seconds, then making a small indent with a clean finger or spoon. Examine the jam to see if it wrinkles up, as this means it’s ready! Using a white plate is recommended as opposed to a patterned, dark-coloured plate to help see the impression clearly.

Move over raspberry, there’s a new kid in town. These nettle brownies are fudgy, chunky and packed with the perfect summer zing to cut through some thoroughly deserved decadence. 

We love these brownies as failsafe crowd-pleasers at picnics, parties and BBQ’s and the pretty leaf patterns on top will leave even the most sophisticated guests impressed. Just don’t forget the gloves when you’re out foraging!

Serves – 12

Foraged Ingredients

x

• Around 20 nettle tops, as young and green as you can find, and without buds or flowers

Other Ingredients

x

• A small squeeze of fresh lemon juice
• 180g dark chocolate
• 250g butter
• A generous pinch of salt
• 100g milk chocolate 
• 300g caster sugar
• 3 medium eggs
• 85g self-raising flour
• 35g cocoa powder

Method

1. Forage your nettles, making sure to wear gloves. You’ll want around 20 nettle tops for this recipe, which means just the upper stem of 6-8 leaves. Rinse the tops in cool water to remove any nasties and set aside 2 stems for later.

2. Blanch the remaining nettle tops for 1-2 minutes in a pot of boiling water to remove the sting and bitterness from the leaves. 

3. Preheat the oven to 170C and line a 34 x 20cm tin with greaseproof paper. While the oven heats up, take half your blanched nettles and place them in a hand blender or food processor. Pulse with a squeeze of lemon until it forms a rough paste.

4. In a heatproof bowl, add the dark chocolate, butter and salt. Place over a pot of gently simmering water so the bottom of the bowl just rests on the water’s surface and stir until combined.

5. Roughly chop the remaining blanched nettle tops and break the milk chocolate into chunks.

6. In a new bowl, add the sugar and eggs. Beat until light and creamy. To this, add your slightly cooled chocolate mixture, followed by the flour and cocoa powder. Stir with a whisk to remove lumps and add your nettle paste.

7. Pour half of the batter into the baking tray and scatter the milk chocolate chunks and remaining blanched nettles over the mixture. Add another layer of batter followed by the rest of the milk chocolate and finally press your reserved nettle leaves onto the top surface.

8. And that’s it. Pop the brownies into the oven to bake for 40-45 minutes.

9. Once done, the brownies should be crackled on top and slightly firm to the touch but still gooey. Allow to cool completely –  we mean it! – before slicing to serve.

Expert’s Tip

We’ve adapted this recipe from the wonderfully talented Max Martin, a forager and wild food recipe developer. 

He warns you should only pick nettles without flower buds or flowers because of a substance – cystoliths, microscopic rods of calcium carbonate – that they start producing to attract insects and bees. It might be great for the pollinators but a little demanding for human kidneys!

Vermicelli pudding is synonymous with festivity, community and joy for the South Asian diaspora. It’s the Eid morning dish after prayer, and now the vermicelli is easily available at most UK grocery stores, this creamy, decadent treat is made with pantry staples, making it a popular choice year-round. Adding foraged blooms adds a hint of new beginnings and elevated sweetness…in more ways than one. 

This recipe requires some prep the night before, but the steps are minimal and the delicate sweet aroma is well worth it.

Serves – 2

Foraged Ingredients

• A generous handful of wisteria blossoms, petals separated from stalks – 1 on the difficulty scale

Other Ingredients

• 1 cup cream (heavy or regular whipping or cooking cream)
• 1 dollop of ghee (clarified butter)
• 1/2 cup vermicelli noodles, crushed 
• A handful of nuts, raisins or coconut flakes – whatever you have on hand 
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1/2 cup condensed milk (adjust to taste)
• 2 spoons of sugar (omit if using sweetened condensed milk)

Method

1. Start by carefully plucking the wisteria blossoms. Discard the stalks and any green parts as they are not edible.

2. Soak the blossoms in cream overnight in the refrigerator. If you would like a stronger flavour, warm up the cream ever so slightly on the lowest possible flame, submerge the blooms and heat gently for half an hour, taking care not to allow the mixture to become too hot or bubble over. Leave a few blossoms outside the cream.

3. In the morning, strain the blooms and discard. Put the cream aside. 

4. In a large, heavy-bottomed pan, heat the ghee over low heat. Add the vermicelli noodles and nuts, then fry them until they turn golden brown and aromatic. Stir constantly to prevent burning. This step adds a nutty flavour to the dish. Be most careful with the raisins, as they can blacken quickly. 

5. Once the vermicelli is golden brown, pour in the whole milk and bring it to a gentle boil. Reduce the heat to low and let the vermicelli simmer in the milk until it softens, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking. Turn off the heat when the vermicelli resembles spaghetti coated with a very thin, glistening layer of ketchup. 

6. Add the wisteria-infused cream and stir through. 

7. Serve chilled, with some fresh blossoms sprinkled on top.

Expert’s Tip

The longer you cook down the milk, the thicker and more decadent it will be.

As the sun peeks out from the May rain clouds, the elderflower blooms in great abundance on the massive bush on the corner of the street. Perfectly sweet for cordials and syrups or, during an English heatwave, iced as a floral granita. 

Serves – 4

Foraged Ingredients

• Around 10/20 heads of elderflower, the more freshly picked the better – easy to find in late spring/early summer.

Other Ingredients

• 1 ½ cups of caster sugar
• 550 ml/ 2 ⅓ cups of water
• 2 lemons or 3 limes 
• Fresh herbs to garnish (we used sage)

Method

1. Choose your flowers carefully; clean, white petals work best for a full flavour. I just grabbed as many as I could without making the tree bare, which was around 10 bunches. Check the flowers for any bugs and plop your elderflower heads in a large pan with the sugar and water. 

2. Juice the lemons or limes (I used limes this time) by squeezing liberally and place the hollowed, juiced halves along with the juice in the pan with the elderflower and sugar mixture. 

3. Bring the mixture to a gentle simmer, then turn off the heat and leave it to infuse for at least 1 hour, making sure the sugar is dissolved. The longer it steeps, the better the results. 

4. Using a sieve over a bowl, strain the mixture to dispose of the elderflower heads and empty lemon halves. Then pour the mixture into a freezable container and freeze for 2-3 hours until frozen. 

5. Leave to stand for 5 minutes and then scoop a large serving into your favourite bowl for serving and add your herbs to garnish!

Expert’s Tip

Place the serving bowls or ramekins in the freezer around an hour before serving, crusted with sugar if you desire. This will not only add a lovely touch, but also allow you to linger over the granita and enjoy it at a leisurely pace, as warm crockery (and hot days!) can make the granita melt faster.