Wild Food Stalks with Garlic and Butter is a modern British recipe for a classic dish of wild food flower stalks that are boiled, fried in butter and served as an accompaniment. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic British version of: Wild Food Stalks with Garlic and Butter.
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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:
15-20 burdock (or alexanders, evening primrose, common hogweed and thistle) flower stalks, peeled (if needed) and sliced into 1–2 cm lengths
4 tbsp butter
6 garlic cloves, minced
8g chives, chopped
Salt and freshly-ground black pepper, to taste
Method:
Place the prepared wild food stems in a saucepan and cover with water so the water comes 3cm above the level of the vegetables. Season with salt then bring to a boil and cook for 10–15 minutes, or until the stems are tender enough to be easily pierced with a fork.
Meld the butter in a small pan over medium-high heat and add the minced garlic. Cook for about 90 seconds until fragrant so the garlic is no longer raw.
Drain the wild food stems in a colander, add to the garlic butter and cook, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes. Mash some of the stem pieces with a potato masher. Add all but a tablespoon of the chives then season to taste with salt and black pepper.
Turn the mixture into a warmed serving bowl, scatter over the reserved chives and add a pat of butter in the centre.
Serve immediately.
Any leftovers makes a great addition to bubble and squeak or it can be mashed the following day, re-heated and served as an accompaniment.
