Gozitans all know how it feels to walk through the garrigue in Gozo on a spring day, each footstep kicking up the aroma of fennel and rosemary from the warm, dry soil, until the scent is so heady that you can taste it. You can bet that our forefathers and mothers collected these herbs to flavour their food just like we do. But with big supermarkets and imported goods proliferating, we’re already starting to forget many of the other foods that grow wild and can be easily foraged in the right season. That’s a shame, because not only is it fun to collect a free lunch, these plants also have sharp, intense flavours and are packed with nutrients. Here’s what to look for and what you can cook with it.

Wild peas

In late winter and early spring, wild peas grow in abundance in Gozo. These super-sweet legumes can often be found sprawling over rubble walls and in fields. You can eat them straight off the plant, pods and all, or take them home to use as a delicious addition to salads. They also steam well; serve them hot with a lemon and olive oil vinaigrette.

Herbs

Fennel grows all over the island, especially on disturbed ground and the fronds make a great tea. Just wash them well, pour on boiling water and let them steep for a few minutes. You can also mix the chopped fronds with heavy pinches of sea salt and sugar and press the paste onto salmon just before cooking (it’s even better if you leave it in the fridge to marinate for a while before it goes in the oven).

The ubiquitous rosemary works incredibly well in risotto; use a basic recipe and add the rosemary needles with the onion. For an extra creamy dish, add brie once you’ve finished the cooking process.

Other hardy herbs like thyme and oregano grow on the garrigue or in abandoned fields and can bring an island flavour to pasta sauce or roast meat.

Fruit

There are few pleasures greater than stumbling on a fruiting fig tree on a country walk and eating figs warmed by the late summer sun, their downy skin splitting open from the sweetness inside. And then there are the wild pomegranate trees, crammed with sunset-coloured kernels of flavour; to get them out, cut the fruit in half, push the centre out a bit and hit the back of the skin with a wooden spoon. If you long to try prickly pear but are afraid of the spines, ask an old timer to peel one for you, paring knife in one hand and the pear grasped in an extra thick gardening glove. Unlike the figs which need to be eaten at ambient temperature for maximum flavour, the flesh of the prickly pear is best when chilled for an hour or so.

Capers

The flower buds that make capers are usually best when harvested in May and pickling them is not as complicated as you might think. Pick the smaller buds as the mature ones can be too bitter; choose ones which are tightly closed so that they don’t go mushy. Soak them for three day to get rid of the bitterness, changing the water daily, then drain off the water. Make a brine with 200ml apple cider vinegar, 200ml water and a teaspoon of salt. Cover the capers with brine, leave for three days, and then enjoy on pizza, salad and with fish.

Salad and greens

Forget those nasty bags of supermarket salad that turn brown and watery a day after you buy them from the supermarket. In spring, you can collect a Gozitan salad on a country walk. Chard grows wild – it looks more like spinach, since it doesn’t have a red stem and can be found in little bunches on the roadside.

Mix it with wild rocket, which also grows on the garrigue and disturbed ground, for some extra peppery flavour.

To pick nettles, you’ll need thick gloves; select the young leaves and deactivate the sting in hot water.

This nutritious plant tastes a bit like spinach and is rich in vitamins A, B, C, D, K, and many minerals including iron, potassium, manganese, calcium, magnesium, phosphorous, silica, iodine, silicon, sodium, and sulfur.

They also have more protein than most other vegetables. You can make a nice pâté by mixing them with avocado and tahini.

Artichokes

This stout, thistle like plant grows about a metre tall on disturbed land and roadside.

To cook it, remove almost all of the outer leaves, slice it into quarters and remove the inner hairs. Place it into water with a dash of lemon juice and bring it to the boil. Drain the quarters and dust them with flour, then dip them in egg and finally breadcrumbs. Fry in olive oil for a tasty starter.

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