These simple recipes using foraged food are a great way to create easy weeknight meals with wild ingredients. They use ingredients you can often find nearby, such as mushrooms, wild garlic, or berries. Quick to prepare, they fit well into a busy week.
Each dish involves easy steps and fresh ingredients that bring a touch of the outdoors to the table. You can add them to pasta, soups, or rice dishes for something a bit different but still simple to make.
Creamy Wild Mushroom Risotto
This Creamy Gourmet Wild Mushroom Risotto recipe is an absolute game-changer.
It is rich, full of flavors, and has the most amazing creamy texture to it. If you are looking for the best vegetarian mushroom risotto recipe, look no further.
To learn more: Creamy Wild Mushroom Risotto
Wild Garlic Soup
This simple, delicious, and nutritious Wild Garlic Soup has a gentle garlicky flavor.
It is made with freshly foraged pungent wild garlic leaves (a.k.a ramps or ramson), potatoes, onions, and Homemade Vegetable Stock.
Wild garlic has a distinct flavor that adds depth and character to any dish, and when turned into a soup, it becomes a comforting and satisfying meal.
To learn more: Wild Garlic Soup
Chinese Hot and Sour Soup
Chinese Hot and Sour Chicken Soup is one of the most popular takeaway dishes that is almost on every Chinese restaurant's menu. It is made with typical Asian ingredients such as dried mushrooms, fresh wild mushrooms, soy sauce, vinegar, and silky egg ribbons.
This tangy, spicy, and warming soup is very easy to make and can be served as an appetizer or a light main meal.
To learn more: Chinese Hot and Sour Chicken Soup
Apple and Blackberry Pie
If you like classic bakes, this Apple and Blackberry Pie is a great one to make. It’s filled with foraged soft apples and juicy wild blackberries, all wrapped in a flaky, golden pastry. The mix of sweet and sharp fruit makes it perfect for late summer and autumn, when both apples and blackberries are at their best.
To learn more: Apple and Blackberry Pie
Mushroom Sauce
This rich and velvety mushroom sauce pairs perfectly with juicy grilled steak, as well as cooked pasta, baked potatoes, or roasted turkey tenderloin.
All you need are a few simple fridge ingredients and 20 minutes to make this homemade sauce, bursting with incredible umami flavour. While hearty mushrooms like saffron milk caps, trooping funnels, or chanterelles work best, I use any mushrooms I have on hand.
To learn more: Creamy Mushroom Sauce for Steak
Wild Garlic Pesto
Wild Garlic Pesto is a springtime favorite sauce that can be added to pasta, soups, and salads. During the spring, when the wild garlic is in season, the best way to use it is to turn it into pesto. This super-tasty sauce keeps well in the fridge for two weeks and also freezes beautifully.
To learn more: Wild Garlic Pesto
Homemade Elderflower Turkish Delight
This homemade Elderflower Turkish Delight (Lokum) is a fun, modern twist on a classic Ottoman treat. It's incredibly easy to make, and you don't need any fancy equipment or hard-to-find ingredients. Not a fan of elderflower? No worries—you can easily switch it up with your favorite flavor!
To learn more: Homemade Elderflower Turkish Delight (Lokum)
Steak and Mushroom Pie
This delicious “lid only” Steak Pie is a quintessentially British dish made of slow-cooked beef and topped with flaky golden shortcrust pastry. It is the ultimate comfort food for cold winter nights when paired with some Pomme Purée (Creamy Mashed Potatoes) on the side. My version of this traditional dish has some dried porcini mushrooms to enhance the flavour. You can use any wild mushrooms with this pie; it still will taste delicious!
To learn more: Steak Pie
Quince Dessert
Ayva Tatlisi, also known as Turkish Quince Dessert, is a delicious sweet treat that has been enjoyed in Turkey for centuries.
This dessert consists of quince fruit, which is native to the Caucasus and Western Asia, and has a unique and sweet flavour that is hard to resist. It's easy to make and a great way to enjoy the unique taste of quince fruit in a sweet and satisfying way.
To learn more: Ayva Tatlisi - Turkish Quince Dessert
Mushroom and Leek Pie
A creamy mixture of leeks and mushrooms topped with a crispy, golden handmade pie crust.
This vegetarian Mushroom and Leek Pie Recipe is great when you need a meatless main meal that even the most meat-lovers will enjoy. Dried porcini mushrooms are my magic ingredient for this pie filling, and I love using them in this dish as they enhance the mushroom flavour. You can use any meaty mushrooms that would keep their shape when cooking.
To learn more: Mushroom and Leek Pie Recipe
Apple and Blueberry Crumble
Apple and Blueberry Crumble is a healthy & delicious quintessential British dessert made with juicy, sweet autumn apples and blueberries topped with nutty, crisp crumble. It is perfect for summer, autumn, or the holiday season. You can use fresh blueberries or any other wild berries that are available to you.
This simple recipe only takes 20 minutes to prepare and is a great crowd-pleaser.
To learn more: Apple and Blueberry Crumble
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