Wild Food Stalk Fritters is a modern British recipe for a classic dish of fritters that can be made from a range of edible wild flower stalks blende with breadcrumbs, garlic, eggs and grated cheese that are fried to cook. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic British version of: Wild Food Stalk Fritters.
(click this button to prevent the screen from sleeping so Cook Mode is 'ON')
This started out as a recipe for burdock flower stalks, that part of burdock that few people know or realise is edible. I was looking for a recipe to use for preparing alexanders stems and it dawned on me that this could be used as an utility recipe to prepare the stems or flower stalks of many wild foods, like burdock, alexanders, evening primrose, fireweed, common hogweed and common thistle; those parts of mostly biennial plants that are edible, but few people gather. For most of these plants collect the flower stalks when they're young and still very flexible. For alexanders you will need to peel and then remove the outer 'strings': easiest done by cutting into about 3cm lengths first and then stringing them. Common and marsh thistle flower stems need to be peeled to remove the spines. Burdock is best around may and also needs to be peeled first (one picked burdock stems will keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 months). Evening primrose flower stems should be eaten when they are very young and before they turn fibrous. Common hogweed is best picked before the flowers open and you can use the flower stems and the flower buds in this recipe.
This recipe cooks the stems in salted water, but if you want to be fancy, you can cook in stock. Most of these shoots will pick up the flavours from the stocks they're cooked in. If you use red wine or include beetroot in the stock they'll turn a nice red colour.
Ingredients:
200g burdock (or alexanders, evening primrose, common hogweed and thistle) flower stalks, peeled (if needed) and sliced into 5cm lengths
2 eggs
1 tbsp minced garlic (use field garlic if you have it)
5 tbsp breadcrumbs
3 tbsp finely grated grated parmesan or pecorino romano cheese
olive oil for frying
hot sauce, to accompany
Method:
Peel (if needed) and prepare your choice of wild vegetable flower stalks as indicated in the introduction then cut into about 5cm lengths. Boil them until they are easily pierced with a fork (thin stems will take about 10 minutes; thick stems may take 20-30 minutes. Once the stems have cooled, drain in a colander until they can be handled then roughly chop them into small pieces and set aside.
In a food processor or spice grinder, finely chop your garlic, then mix in with the wild edible stems.
Lightly beat the two eggs, then add the burdock and garlic mixture, the breadcrumbs along with the grated cheese, and mix well to combine.
Form the dough into small patties about 8cm in diameter and set aside.
Place a frying pan over medium-high heat. Once hot add in some oil and use to cook the patties for about 3 minutes per side. As you flip the fritters press down on each one with your spatula to flatten them slightly. Remove them from the oil when they’re golden brown on both sides and place them on a paper towel, to help eliminate any excess oil.
Serve as a snack accompanied by your favourite hot sauce.
