TopVeg – growing veg,fruit&herbs

Marsh samphire ( latin name – Salicornia europaea) is in season now!  Samphire grows on the tidal marshes of East Anglia and the Humber.  Washed by the tides, it is bright green and has a salty taste.

samphire

The simplest (& best!) way to use samphire is to treat it like asparagus.  After washing it well, simmer in boiling water, then drain & cover with melted butter.  Hold the end of the stem in your fingers and  draw the shoots through the teeth, peeling the succulent part from the thin central core.

SamphireCore-Remains

The kind neighbour who shared her foraging with us suggested making samphire rissoles, with a mixture of cooked potatoes, onion & samphire moulded into a cake and fried.

SamphireRissole

It is fun collecting the Samphire at low tide & even more fun eating it!

Samphire is an edible wild plant found in coastal regions of Great
Britain at this time of the year.

There are two types of samphire, marsh samphire & rock samphire:

*Marsh samphire ( latin name – Salicornia europaea)

* also known as common glasswort
* found on the tidal marshes in East Anglia and Humberside
* picked at low tide
* bright green samphire has succulent leaves resembling miniature cacti
* salty flavour
* taste rather like asparagus.Samphire is sometimes called “poor
man’s asparagus”

samphire-frond

*Rock samphire (latin name – Crithmum maritimum)

* found on the rocky cliffs of the South Coast

samphire-leaves