I love this time of year as the promise of Spring is heavy in the air. Days are ever-so-slowly getting longer, the aire is getting that little bit warmer - and our gardens are starting to wake from their Winter hibernation.
It also means that foraging is back on the menu.
In March you can look out for wild garlic, three cornered leek, Jack in the hedge (also known as garlic mustard), nettles and sorrel. These can be used to make pesto, butters, sauces and added to soups. I use wild garlic leaves like spinach, steaming it with lemon and eating it as a vegetable and I use it to wrap fish in and steaming it. The flavour is subtle and delicious.
I live by the sea and there are some lovely little bays that have amazing wild offerings too.
Last weekend at low tide, I went mussel picking with some friends and we also harvested some pepper dulse.
Pepper dulse is found at low tide and it’s often called the truffle of the sea. It is a very small seaweed but it’s packed full of flavour. It has a garlicy, truffley flavour and it’s also (as its name suggests) very peppery and it also tastes of the sea and it’s utterly delicious. Pepper dulse is rich in calcium and magnesium that are good for our teeth and bones.
If you don’t live near the sea, you can still taste this amazing seaweed. The Pembrokeshire Beach Food Company sell Pepper Dulse butter in jars and you can buy it online.
It is though very simple to make your own if you can pick some - and it’s a natural partner for not only fish, but also lovely to use in pasta dishes, risottos, soups and I love it with mussels.
Pepper Dulse Butter
Zest of 1/2 lemon
Zest of 1 mandarin (or 1/2 orange) plus a dessertspoon of juice
200 grams soft unsalted butter
20 grams pepper dulse – or you can use wild garlic leaves (roughly chopped)
1 teaspoon sea salt flakes
Freshly ground black pepper
Splash of pastis (optional)
Clean and wash the pepper dulse to remove any sand or grit and mix it with the butter, lemon & orange zests and a teaspoon of orange juice. Add black pepper and a pinch of sea salt and a teaspoon of pastis to the butter if you want to.
Combine together and mix well. Lay two layers of cling film out and shape the butter into a sausage. Roll tightly in the clingfilm and put in the fridge. This will keep for a few days but you can also freeze it.
I cooked the mussels that we picked with fennel, orange, pastis and white wine and finished the dish with pepper dulse & orange butter and sprinkled over toasted almonds. If wild mussels elude you, you can still recreate this delicious dish at home using farmed mussels and wild garlic in place of the foraged mussels and pepper dulse.
Mussels with orange, fennel & almonds with pepper dulse butter – feeds 2 for a main course, 4 for a starter
Olive Oil
1 kilo of mussels, cleaned
1 small fennel bulb, finely diced
½ teaspoon fennel seeds
1 banana shallot, finely diced
1 desertspoon wild garlic leaves, roughly chopped
1 celery stick, finely diced (optional)
Splash of pastis or other aniseed drink (optional)
100ml dry white wine
20 grams of Pepper dulse butter
Squeeze of orange juice
A little grated orange zest and chopped parsley and a large handful of toasted almonds or crushed roasted salted almonds
Heat a tablespoon or two of olive oil in a wok or saucepan over a gentle heat. Add the shallot, chopped fennel and celery and saute until the shallot is opaque but don’t let it brown. Add the fennel seeds and wild garlic and saute for a minute or two.
Add the mussels to the pan, turn up the heat and add the pastis, white wine and a squeeze of orange juice and give the pot a stir. Turn the heat down slightly and put a lid on the pan and simmer the mussels for 3 – 5 minutes, shaking the pan ever now and then and cook until the mussels open.
Once opened, remove the mussels from the pan and keep warm. Turn the heat up and let the mussel cooking liquor reduce a bit (this will concentrate the flavour and thicken the broth). Whisk in the pepper dulse butter. Taste and season with salt and pepper (and a little squeeze of lemon juice) if needed. Place the mussels back in the pan and sprinkle with the toasted almonds, orange and parsley. Serve with crusty bread and pepper dulse butter; or olive oil oven chips drizzled with a little extra pepper dulse butter.
