By Sarah Newstead

Last updated 21:05, Thursday, 13 November 2008

As the credit crunch pinches family shopping budgets, a Cumbrian chef has the answer – look to nature’s larder to make a meal for free.

• Video: John Crouch makes a bramble and apple pudding

John Crouch

John Crouch has been looking to the hedgerows for ingredients for more than 30 years and is urging people to get out and forage to make the most of Cumbria’s natural bounty.

He told The Cumberland News: “At one time, people relied upon food growing wild as an important part of their diet. There’s a lot you can get from the countryside and it’s free.

“Cooking meals from scratch saves money. Plus, if people realise there’s a worth to the countryside they are more likely to look after it.”

Foods growing wild in the county include blackberries, raspberries, juniper berries, gooseberries, hazelnuts, mint, sorrel, sloe berries, and wild garlic.

Marshes in the Solway are also home to samphire – a delicious plant when pickled according to John.

Urban dwellers need not despair with tasty treats growing in the strangest of places.

John said: “There’s a horseradish plant growing close to Hardwick Circus roundabout in Carlisle.

“The Keswick Coddling apple was discovered growing on a rubbish dump in Ulverston. Anyone can give this a try.”

For a number of years he has been running hedgerow cookery courses to help others make the most of the region’s edible delights.

John, who is also a Cumbria County Councillor and sits on Allerdale Council for Wigton, became drawn to the hedgerows for cooking inspiration after catching whiffs of herbs while out walking.

“It’s just a nice thing to go out and come back with pockets full.

“There’s a nostalgia to it – I have memories of childhood pushing into the brambles to get the biggest blackberries.

“I’d like to see more interest in what grows naturally.

“It’s important that the knowledge is passed down to children – their faces light up when they see there’s something for nothing growing out there.

“I’ve memories of collecting rosehips too.

“During the war, people used to collect them. They used them for medicines and for vitamin C.”

But he has a warning to all would-be foragers.

“Never eat anything until you are really sure what it is – never guess.”

For information about next year’s hedgerow cookery courses contact Wigton Adult Education on 016973 21515.

To do-it-yourself, read Food For Free by Richard Mabey.

RECIPES:
Make a three-course meal with John’s recipes using food for free from the hedgerows and a few store cupboard staples.

Sorrel Soup:
1 large handful of sorrel leaves found growing wild, washed and broken into pieces;
1 small lettuce (or a few trimmings), washed and broken into pieces;
1 large onion, chopped;
12g (1/2oz) butter;
1 large potato;
1lt (1 1/2pt) chicken stock;
250ml (1/2pt) milk
salt and pepper;
Melt the butter in a large saucepan, add the leaves and onion and soften without browning. Add the potato and boiling stock.
Simmer uncovered for 20-30 minutes until the potato is cooked. Sieve or liquidize for a few seconds. Add the milk and seasoning. Heat through and serve with fried croutons.

Hazelnut Crunch Trout Fillets:
4 trout fillets caught in Cumbria (although a licence is necessary to fish);
seasoned flour;
1 egg beaten;
175g chopped hazelnuts gathered in Cumbrian hedgerows;
50g butter;
Dust each trout fillet with the seasoned flour. Mix the egg and milk together to make an egg wash. Coat the fillets with the wash and then with the chopped nuts. Heat the butter in a frying pan and fry on each side until crisp and golden.

Apple and Bramble Trifle:
trifle sponge cake;
225g brambles found growing in hedgerows across the county;
450g of wild eating apples found naturally;
4tbsp water;
100g sugar;

For the custard:
2 level tbsp cornflour;
600ml milk;
4 egg yolks;
50g caster sugar;
few drops vanilla essence;
toasted almond flakes to serve.
Peel, core and slice the apples. Pick over the brambles. Cook apples gently in a saucepan with the water over a low heat until half cooked. Add sugar and brambles and cook gently until juices have formed and the fruit is tender.
Break sponges into a glass serving dish and spoon over the fruit and enough juice to soak the sponges. Add 150ml to the cornflour and blend well. Put remaining milk into a saucepan and heat until almost boiling. Stir a little hot milk into the cornflour, mix and return to the milk saucepan. Stir until boiling. Crack the egg yolks into a large basin and add the sugar and stir. Stir in the hot milk mix and blend. Rinse the milk saucepan and strain the custard back into the pan. Stir over a low heat until thickened, but do not boil. Add vanilla essence and leave to cool. Pour over fruit and sponge base. leave until cold then chill for several hours. Sprinkle with almonds and serve with fresh single cream.