• First up is Alexanders (Smyrnium olusatrum). The stems are nice and chunky in May, hollow and grooved on the outside. They smell and taste like a floral version of celery and I’ll be eating them with salad cream and chopping them into stews.
  • I found out recently that if you cut the stems into 5mm slices and fry until crispy, they are absolutely delicious!
Alexanders in flower

Alexanders in flower

 

  • Crow garlic (Allium vineale) has been around for a while, but its green stems are hard to spot in the meadows where it likes to grow. The red flowers/seed heads make it much easier to find and I’ll be using it as a garlicky substitute for chives.
Crow garlic

Crow garlic

  • Like crow garlic, Pignuts (Conopodium majus) is pretty tough to find before it flowers and that’s the best time to pick it. However, I found that they’re still good whilst flowering. Don’t forget to get the landowner’s permission before digging up these tasty tubers.
Pignut leaves

Pignut leaves

 

What will you be on the forage for this month?