Cooking with Blackberry wine, and Wild Herbs

Now if you've been keeping up with the Blackberry season, you'll know we laid down a few bottles of Blackberry wine a few weeks ago.

http://foragersnook.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/blackberry-wine.html

We always keep a "taster bottle" to see how the batch is getting on, and having tried it after 3 weeks, I can confirm it's now like a sweet and sprightly french beaujolais - i.e. fresh, fruity and light on tannins.

Today's wander took us along the cliffs of Dover from St Margarets back towards Dover to the National Trust centre above the Port of Dover - along the "Saxon Shore Way"

(The Cafe at the Dover National Trust cliff top centre is a splendid place for a mid-walk cup of tea and a scone)

All along this sun drenched cliff top are patches of wild marjoram/oregano

as well as big specimens of sea beets, ready for next spring (they'll be a bit tough and stringy by now)

And what better to do than mix the two...

so today's recipe is a wonderful lamb-shank, pot braised in blackberry wine, with wild oregano.

(Wine, stock cube, carrot, celery, onion, garlic, tomatoes, mustard, worcestershire sauce, wild herbs, - 3 hrs slow braise at 180 degrees)

sweet, succulent, and delicious, served with home grown new potatoes.

And also...watch out out for wonderful butterflies feasting on the thistles, scabies, and the oregano flowers.
 

Ramsons - The King of Spring

If there is one Spring foraging sight that might be considered unmistakeable, it's the heady pungent aroma and bright white heads of Wild Garlic bobbing in the breeze in a shady nook.

When we started our venture last autumn, we had no idea where would be the best spot to find them local to us...until today!

10 mile meander through Fant Farm, up past St Margaret's church, up to and through Oaken Woods, and back down through Teston, and home along the river Medway.

Oaken woods didn't disappoint, its maze of walks lined with wild strawberries, violets, and promises of plenty of cob nuts and sweet chestnuts later in the season.

The "north pole road" heading down to Teston/Wateringbury has Wild Garlic (Ramson's) along it's northern edge.

But the best haul, if you want a pot-full of Ramson's is the Medway River Walk between Teston Bridge and Fant Farm.  look out for shady nooks and the white heads, and enjoy! - There's plenty to go round.

Tj@TheNook