Wild in the Kitchen: a blog by forager Will Newitt

This is one of a series of bi-monthly blogs by Dorset-based forager, Will Newitt, owner of Down to Earth Bushcraft.

As late summer creeps in, foragers everywhere are starting to twitch and salivate. A disconcerting sight perhaps but it heralds the beginning of the busiest time in the wild food calendar.

Succulent fruits and berries aside, I shall soon be dusting down my basket and heading out into the forest looking for some early fungi. There’s various treats on my ‘shopping list’ but near the top has to be the wonderfully earthy penny bun- more commonly known in the culinary world by it’s Italian name, porcini or French name, cep.

Regardless of name, every time I stumble across one of these beauties, usually nestled under old oak or beech trees, I can’t help whooping with delight (along with a bit of twitching and salivating). What’s more, word on the foragers’ grapevine seems optimistic that the hot weather over the last few months could be setting us up for a bumper harvest- in hotter countries, such as Italy and France, mushrooming is pretty much an institution and the porcini/cep is often picked in huge quantities.

Being such a well-respected mushroom means there is no shortage of recipes for this one, there’s various ideas on The Staff Canteen’s recipe page from infused oil to risotto to a rather inspirational cep and seaweed ice cream!

Including this one from Andrew Fairlie - Cep Tart, Roasted Calves Sweetbread

http://www.thestaffcanteen.com/chefs-recipes

Will is a wild food obsessive. He is based in Dorset, where he runs a fledgling bushcraft business, specialising in introducing people to the edible pleasures of woodland and hedgerow.

More info can be found at www.downtoearthbushcraft.com