Getting out of the house is one of my favourite pastimes. Especially, when making hogweed fritters is on the agenda. I appreciate short walks as much as long treks. In fact, these days I move slower and really try to take in the environment around me. I enjoy noticing more.
I love spotting hidden food gems. I try to focus on learning about each plant and its benefits before incorporating it into my diet. This way I learn how the new food affects my body. This is not just checking for tolerance, but also a way of monitoring how it affects my energy levels.
Foraging for Hogweed
Hogweed was a plant I always wanted to try. It’s stems have been likened to Asparagus. I enjoy asparagus but since discovering Hogweed I know what all the fuss is about. Identification of Hogweed is really important though. It has a very deadly lookalike: poison Hemlock. Hemlock is toxic in just a couple of leaves. For today’s forage I took extra care to do the following.
1. Identify the plant I was picking. This sounds obvious but if there are plants bunched together and overlapping, you need to make extra sure you are picking from the plant you identified.
2. Take care to collect the plant respectfully. This means, causing limited damage to the plant and not leaving it open to disease.
3. Only take what I need. We live in a world of waste. Practicing portioning on a forage allows you to be mindful and can help when out shopping too. It also means you leave food for nature and other foragers.
I have tried the stems of Hogweed before and wanted to make Hogweed flower fritters.
Making the Hogweed Fritters
- Make up a batter. It will be similar to pancake batter. I like to season with salt, pepper and paprika but you can choose whichever spices you prefer.
- Carefully wash your hogweed
- Blanch the florets for 3 minutes in boiling water
- Remove and dry as much as possible on a paper towel. Removing the water will help prevent spitting when frying.
- Heat up some oil in a frying pan. It should be enough for a shallow fry. Alternatively go the whole hog(weed) and deep fry the fritters.
- Individually drench the florets in the batter and gently lower into the hot oil.
- Turn after a few minutes or when golden.
- when evenly cooked remove and place on kitchen paper to drain excess oil.
- Serve warm with an Aioli dip (Amazon link).
Yummy and bursting with flavour
Why not make a day of it? Incorporate your forage with some fun outdoor family activities or go on a nature trail to explore more of the nature around you.
