Samphire is Delicious Gourmet Coastal Wild Food

How to Collect and Cook Edible Salicornia Species

Aug 10, 2009

Marsh Samphire is a popular wild food ingredient often found on fish stalls. Delicious in salads while young, or steamed with butter to accompany fish.

For a really authentic taste of the sea, serve Samphire raw in seafood salads or gently steamed with butter, either as a first course or as an accompaniment to fresh fish. The flavor is intense and delicious, a wild food that it is well worth taking the time to collect.

Finding Samphire

Marsh Samphire is widely found on coastal mudflats and salt marshes around the coast of the UK, as well as in other European countries. The season for collection begins at midsummer, though it becomes easier to collect from mid to late July as the plants grow. It is good to collect until early September.

Harvesting Marsh Samphire

Prepare to get muddy when collecting Marsh Samphire as it grows best when its roots are directly in soft coastal mud. Take a basket and scissors as it is important to cut the stems rather than to pull them up by the roots. Cut off the succulent top section of the plant, tasting to find out how much of the plant is tender and how much is very woody and not worth picking. Take careful note of tide times, not only to ensure that the samphire beds are accessible, but also to avoid any danger of being stranded by an incoming tide.

Buying Samphire

Marsh Samphire is undoubtedly a time-consuming wild food to collect. When time is plentiful and the weather mild, putting on clothes that may be covered in mud for the Marsh Samphire harvest and striding out to the mudflats can be an enjoyable and adventurous experience. However it is possible to avoid this work as many fishmongers near to the coast sell Marsh Samphire, and it is also possible to buy it pickled in jars all year round.

Preparing and Cooking Marsh Samphire

If absolutely necessary Marsh Samphire may be stored in the fridge in a paper bag for a few days. Ensure it remains unwashed and is dry for storage. Marsh Samphire should be rinsed and drained immediately before use. For use in a salad remove any tough lower stems. The easiest way to find where the woody section begins is to try a few stalks raw!

To cook, steam gently for around five minutes and serve with melted butter, but not salt as it is salty enough on its own. Eat as asparagus, stripping the tender flesh from the stalk with teeth.

Samphire is popular in chic London restaurants, but it is accessible to all as a delicious, seasonal coastal wild food.

The copyright of the article Samphire is Delicious Gourmet Coastal Wild Food in Summer Recipes is owned by Joanne E. Brannan. Permission to republish Samphire is Delicious Gourmet Coastal Wild Food in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.