7 minute read
Scottish Foraging with Paul Wedgwood
Dream Escape joins the Edinburgh chef, whose restaurant on the Royal Mile has been a stalwart on the fine-dining scene for over 17 years, for a foraging experience along the rugged coastline of East Lothian.
Smell that?” Chef Paul Wedgwood stops along a farm track in the middle of the East Lothian countryside. “I love the smell of nettles. It says the time for foraging has begun.”
Breathing in deep, there’s a crisp sweet smell in the air and nothing but birdsong in the trees. An hour outside of Edinburgh, on a Dream Escape foraging experience with chef Paul Wedgwood, we first learn how to harvest the smallest, sweetest leaves at the tip of a nettle without getting stung. “There are so many herbs, roots, mushrooms and edible plants in this area,” he says, gesturing to the open fields and thick woodlands. “But nettles are my favourite. Nettles pair perfectly with lamb.”
Twelve years ago, Paul added a foraged salad to the menu at his namesake restaurant on the Royal Mile, piquing the interest of many customers. “They wanted to know where everything came from. So I thought, hey, people are interested in foraging, it’s not just me.” Now, at the weekend, he leads foraging walks through the countryside just outside Edinburgh. A foraging experience through Dream Escape includes a ramble across some of Scotland’s striking coastal scenery with chef Paul identifying the wild ingredients he uses in the kitchen. It culminates in a 7-course foraged lunch back at Wedgwood Restaurant.
“In this small area, you’ve got ancient woods, disturbed grounds, meadow, salt marshes, sand dunes and rock pools,” Paul says. “It’s like a microcosm of the Scottish Lowlands and the variety of wild herbs and plant life reflects that. Look, here!” He pauses to admire a little plant with a yellow, bulb-like head growing on the dusty farm track. “Pineapple chamomile.”
There are around 50 samples to taste during the walk. Pineapple chamomile has a surprisingly tropical taste for Scotland, sweet and fruity with a hint of coconut. Another treasure of the disturbed ground terrain is the greater plantain – a sprawling weed that blights the patio cracks of most gardens in the UK. “It goes beautifully with spinach,” Paul says.
As we approach a gnarled old tree, Paul removes a piece of drainpipe from his rucksack. A pheasant back mushroom the size of a dinner plate sticks out of the bark at the top, and Paul uses the drainpipe as a boost up to harvest it – it will be the star of the foraging tasting menu later.
Emerging from the farm track, we pick our way across the salt marshes near the shore. It’s a landscape of lush green and sandy patches where scurvy grass and sea coriander grow. “It’s all about taking only what you need and leaving enough for nature to rewild itself and enough for everyone else. We don’t want to strip this landscape.” Paul carefully picks a few stalks of scurvy grass, we sample the peppery stems and move on.
Tyninghame Beach might be one of lowland Scotland’s best-kept secrets. The long stretch of sand is quiet, even on a sunny Saturday. Paul bounds between the rock pools, Bass Rock shimmering on the horizon behind him. “Just wait for this. This will blow your mind,” he says. “Aha! Here!” Holding up a bedraggled, red piece of seaweed, he grins. “Pepper dulse tastes just like bacon.”
After the gentle walk through the countryside, we return to Wedgwood Restaurant. It’s an intimate space in a historic building on one of Edinburgh’s busiest streets. “I’d been looking for a restaurant down south, but there was a For Sale sign on this little place on the Royal Mile. I spotted it on a night out in Edinburgh and it was just perfect.” Sixteen years later, Paul Wedgwood is still considered one of the top fine-dining chefs in the city, with a litany of awards and accolades.
For the foraging tasting menu, venison carpaccio is served with the wood sorrel we picked earlier. “They served venison carpaccio with green ants at Noma when I went, so I thought the sharp citrussy taste of sorrel would work just as well without looking beyond the Scottish countryside,” Paul says. The citrus zap from the sorrel cuts nicely through the iron tang of venison.
“The menu isn’t just seasonal,” Paul says. “It’s microseasonal. For example, you won’t see anything on the menu in May that was there in February or March. At least one dish is switched out each week because the wild ingredients change in taste so fast. Sweet cicely might be like an aniseed ball one week and then sugary sweet the next. Dried hogweed seeds change from bitter orange to cardamom flavoured practically overnight.”
The pièce de résistance is the pheasant back mushroom, harvested straight from the tree that morning and served with a light splash of Scots pine oil and celeriac to let the earthy taste of the mushroom shine through. And, tucking into the flaky cod topped with crisped pepper dulse confirms it – the sustainable seaweed from the rock pools of Tyninghame Beach tastes just like bacon.
When asked if he is considering branching out beyond Wedgwood Restaurant, Paul says, “Maybe. But I’m happy where I am. Why would I move on when I’ve got an entire wild larder to play with right on my doorstep?”
Paul's Recipe...
WEDGWOOD’S STICKY TOFFEE PUDDING
I started making sticky toffee pudding 30 years ago in an English Lake District Hotel.
It’s a recipe that has evolved with me over the years, and when we opened Wedgwood The Restaurant in 2007, it was our first dessert on the menu and has remained unchanged ever since.
Here's our most popular and revered sticky toffee pudding recipe to enjoy at home...
• Serves 4
• Prep time: 30 minutes
• Cooking time: 40 minutes
Ingredients
• 35g unsalted butter
• 115g soft dark-brown sugar
• 2 whole eggs
• pinch of baking powder
• pinch of bicarbonate of soda
• 140g self-raising flour
• 1/2 tsp espresso
• 100g dates, pitted, chopped
• 120ml boiling water
Method
1. Preheat oven to 180°C.
2. Cream together butter and sugar, add eggs and combine.
3. Sift baking powder, pinch of Bicarbonate of soda and flour into egg mix, add espresso.
4. Add dates and water to bowl and mix thoroughly until flour completely mixed.
5. Bake in oven for 45 minutes.
Unleash your inner forager
Explore The Wild Landscapes Of The UK And Ireland With Dream Escape
The UK and Ireland boast some of the most diverse and beautiful landscapes, making them the perfect places for foraging. From the rolling hills of the Scottish Highlands to the rugged coastlines of Ireland, there are countless opportunities to discover the bounty of wild ingredients. In addition to joining a foraging expedition with renowned chef Paul Wedgwood, Dream Escape will arrange outdoor foraging adventures in the ancient woodlands of the New Forest, gathering seaweed on the beaches of Anglesey, and discovering medicinal herbs in the stunning Wicklow Mountains. Whether you're a seasoned forager or a newcomer, foraging is a unique and unforgettable experience that allows you to appreciate the bounty of nature and the culinary arts, and the rewards of finding, cooking, and eating wild ingredients are endless. enquiries@dreamescape.co.uk
Karen Murray - Head of Events
From beautiful beaches and seafood to sublime Scottish countryside, East Lothian has so much to offer. Another must-see visit is the lowland home of Johnnie Walker – Glenkinchie Distillery. Sustainability is at the heart of what they do. As well as receiving a Gold Award for Green Tourism they have also been working on a nature-sustainability strategy to encourage pollination and protect wildlife in the area. Glenkinchie is also known as ‘The Garden Distillery’, as it's heavily influenced by the incredible land and green surroundings. From the food on your plate to the whisky you sip, we love these sustainable options.
Words | Suzy Pope
