Foraging with Darina Allen

Rose hips, nettles, blackberries, seaweed, muscles, sweet chestnuts, camomile, garlic… our fields, woods and hedgerows are full of delicious and delectable wild ingredients, there for the taking. Ingredients that are fresher and tastier than anything you will ever find in the shops and have the added advantage of being free.

But although all this free, wild food is readily available you have to know what you are looking for and – once you have gathered it – how to cook it.

Which is where this wonderful and extremely popular annual course comes in. First of all Darina, who is an extremely enthusiastic forager, will take you for a walk in the countryside around Ballymaloe in search of suitable ingredients. Then you will spend the rest of the day with her learning how to prepare the treasures you’ve gathered.

Depending on what has been found you might learn how to make jellies from elderberries and crab apples, jams from damsons and blackberries, wonderful soups from nettles and watercress, and tasty salads from green and red orach and sorrel, not to mention rosehip syrup, Carigeen moss pudding, fritters from comfrey and even sloe gin.

A light lunch is included.
 

Unfortunately Accommodation is not available at the cookery School during this course, but there is plenty of local accommodation.