Rocket science
July 24, 2009
I’ve been struck down with porcine flu, but in spite of that I’ve been harvesting thunderbolt plums, mirabelles, greengages, cherries and wild rocket.
Wild rocket pops up everywhere these days, billowing about on top of stone-baked pizzas, pastas and salads in restaurants and selling for a fortune in supermarkets. It’s almost become culinary shorthand for la dolce vita, but like so many voguish foods it wasn’t always that way- in less adventurous times it was considered too strong-tasting, and given to pet rabbits as a staple green (it was usually referred to by its other name Arugula). People are often surprised that it’s a common wild plant.
Going by a leading high-end food shop’s 2009 price of £1.59 a bag, I’ve seen at least £3000 worth growing on a mound in the Olympic village building site, and another £1000 worth on the embankment of the DLR’s Stratford branch. It’s all over the place. The flavour in wild London rocket has amazed everyone I’ve shown it to- it’s wonderfully hot and peppery and blows the bought stuff out of the water. You can spot it by its buttercup-like flowers which rise high above the leaves on long stalks.
We’ve done some good walks recently, one with a nice journalist from the Wharf magazine, a free paper read by bankers in the Docklands. Hopefully they’ll want a few hours’ respite from their high-octane work lives and book themselves onto a walk! You can see the article here
http://www.wharf.co.uk/2009/07/finding-flavour-by-the-roadsid.html
In September we’ve been invited to give some talks and running workshops at a ‘Get Green, Get Creative’ Fayre run by the Claremont Arts and Therapy Centre and the Cubitt Art Gallery, and doing some projects with London secondary schools. There definitely seems to be a growing interest in foraging and I genuinely believe that it does wonders for the soul, so I’m really looking forward to these.
The first brambles are now ready- They’re next on our list, for wine and desserts, and to form the next layer of my Rumtopf! I’m also looking forward to going up to my Aunt and Uncle’s farm in Hesketh Banks in Lancashire to harvest some marsh samphire. We’ll follow the tides out in the afternoon.
Please get in touch if you want to come on a walk in August or September! Contact us through our website www.londonforager.com
