Summer Foraging with Carr Gomm

The sunny weather in the morning at this time of year is perfect for picking elderflowers. As wet weather can wash away its natural fragrant and flavour, May to July is a fantastic time for harvesting elderflowers. So, on Tuesday we met up with Carr Gomm for a community foraging walk up the path leading to Craigmillar Castle.

Away from the roadside, we encountered a massive amount of frothy white blooms which grew tall and low, and other plants that are free from pesticides. Only the berries and the flowers are edible, while the other parts of the plant are toxic. We picked elderflowers from chest height and also got some nettles, carefully picked with gloves as they are irritating on bare skin.

Despite its stinging characteristic, nettles are a versatile ingredient that are also a superfood, rich in iron, vitamins A and D, and minerals. The tips of the nettles have the most flavour, and you can use it similarly to spinach or to make tea (foraging guide Karin said it’s especially good with black tea). 

It is important to remember to prep and cook the forage safely! Karin from Carr Gomm explained the other different plants we foraged (thyme, pine needles, rose petals) and we removed toxic and unwanted parts such as the nettle seeds.

Once it was time for the nettles, the group paid close attention to picking the leaves. It is a meticulous yet surprisingly social job, as we were able to chat and work at the same time! After that we rinsed the leaves, petals, elderflower heads thoroughly and split into groups to make some elderflower cordials, elderflower meringue, savoury and sweet meesamens (Moroccan parcels) with the savoury ones having a nettle and chilli filling, while the sweet one had a mixed nut filling. 

We fully submerged and blanched the nettle leaves for five minutes to deaden the sting, followed by rolling them into small balls to use as fillings later. After some intense mixing, Mary did the ultimate meringue test and luckily did not have any meringue dripped onto her head as she held the meringue bowl aloft. We had the option of adding rose water and orange zest to our Elderflower Italian meringue. 

Next up we buttered the filo pastry and fold fillings into triangular shapes for the Moroccan parcels. It was semi-triangular sometimes, but everyone in the group improved as we made more. By the end, we had even made some geometrically perfect ones.   

To finish off, we baked the sweet messamens and fried the savoury ones. We kept ourselves busy with cleaning up, but our eyes kept zoning into the oven while our mouths watered. When everything was cooked, we proceeded to enjoy the savoury parcels with some condiments, and the sweet ones with our meringue, all washed down with the elderflower cordial.

Our intern Bo still ‘reminisces’ about the taste of the parcels, especially the sweet nutty ones with the fresh meringue that had hints of elderflower scent in it. You cannot top golden crispy dessert with foraged ingredients and delicious whipped meringue!