GASTRO FORAGING
A LEAF FROM
nature’s book
Fergus Drennan, a.k.a. ‘Fergus the Forager’, shows us how to use the beauty of autumn in more ways than one
O
n a damp late-autumn day sometime, in a street somewhere, in a town someplace, and with a state of mind somehow ponderous with the seeping chill and reflective pathos of pre-wintered awareness, you may have noticed that most ephemeral of ghostly forms, that fleeting watery shadow of transience personified: The full-contoured imprint of a leaf that fell, lay prostrate in damp isolation, then, drying ever so slightly to furtively reveal an upturned edge, must have been prized up and completely peeled away, a plucking gust of fingered wind leaving nothing but a clearly defined yet water-damp simulacrum of the leaf’s true self. Leaves such as these can be the catalyst for beauty and magic. Now, the energy is vibrant and alive, in stark contrast to the tired drear of dying autumn’s wane. Spring’s determined march parades full-tilt into celebratory being; sap is rising, tendrilled roots thrum and pulsate in dirt-penetrative abandon, and leaf buds swell to bursting life. Soon, there will be such a riotous abundance of foliage that the foraging opportunities for caterpillars, deer, rabbits and wild humans alike will be near endless. In March, April and May especially, but in some cases on into the summer months too, the more common and forage-ready raw materials that comprise this leafy abundance of possibilities appear. Like the salad-loving insects and animals, we can enjoy eating many leaves in their fresh and raw state.
syrup and dehydrated into flavoursome stained-glass magnificence, especially when using a botanical syrup made from the same leaves, or another part of the plant from whence they came. Good examples include oak leaves candied in acorn syrup, young bramble leaves cooked in sweetened blackberry juice, or the evocatively aromatic small hand-like leaves of the fig tree, prepared using the exquisite flavour of green fig syrup. But what of those leaves I mentioned, the ones possessing such a natural grace of form that they can I’d certainly include fig be the catalyst for beauty leaves among the elect of and magic, even in their final absence? It’s a question of those manifesting a sublime one’s particular aesthetic and joyous form sensibilities, of course, and I’d certainly include fig leaves among the elect of those manifesting a sublime and joyous form. Indeed, I’ve successfully and sauces, vinegar pickling, lactoused fig leaves for this edition’s recipe fermenting, or perhaps drying, freshly suggestion. Yet, what’s exciting and infusing or decocting for teas, wines, so much fun in what follows is the use beers, syrups or seasonings. of edible and inedible leaves. Of what Of course, the uses of any particular leaf importance is edibility if what taken from will often defy simple categorisation, or a leaf’s flavour or nutritive substance, at least can cast their range of potential but isn’t simply delightful shape and across any such categorisations. For patterning? Common sense would, example, the leaves of Ramsons or Wild nevertheless, caution against the use of Garlic Allium ursinum can be used as a overtly poisonous leaves...perhaps. salad leaf, in salad dressings, as a side Over the winter months, much vegetable, in soups, and in sauces such as experimentation went on in my kitchen, pesto. Alternatively, it can have practical as I made chocolate leaves from welluses, such as protein extraction to make chosen evergreen or overwintering a pungent curd, for pickling and lactoplants. Two favourites in particular fermenting, for flavouring cheese and were ivy and Viburnum rhytidophyllum. butter, and for puréeing and adding to The former is shapely, abundant and fresh pasta dough, among other uses. easy to find, while the latter has a Some leaves can be transformed in wonderfully deep and attractive veining. flavour profile by crushing and oxidising, Check out my recipe on the next page. while others can be candied in sugar Saying this, we may decide on an alternative use, depending on the variables of differing size, shape, texture, flavour, aromatics and stage of growth; the use that will best bring out a particular leaf’s unique qualities. There are many ways to incorporate foraged materials into your meals. This could involve using them as a garnish, cooking as a side vegetable, or in soups
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