Recipes for a herbal picnic

Inspired by our Summer Children’s Workshop in the herb garden β€˜A Herbal Picnic’
Here are a few recipes for you to try at home!

Level up oatcakes!

  • 300g porridge oats

  • 180g plain flour

  • 80ml olive oil

  • 2 sheets Nori / handful of Laver seaweed dried and toasted

  • 3 tbsp. Nettle seeds

  • 1 tsp. sea salt

  • Water, to bind and form a stiff dough.

Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl, with just enough water to bring the mixture together into a stiff dough. Knead for a few minutes to make the dough more supple.

Roll out on a floured surface to a few mm thickness, and cut out with a cookie cutter, placing the oatcakes on a lined baking tray.

Back in a pre-heated oven at 180˚C for 25 - 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and leave to cool on a rack, before storing in an airtight container.

Rose-petal jam

Make the most of the wonderful sensory impact of Rose! You can use any unsprayed, fragrant rose species. Make small batches as you get to know the subtle differences in flavour between the species to see which you prefer.

We used Rosa gallica, which is Apothecary Rose. It is sweet, flavourful and grows abundant blossoms in my garden. Any wild rose works too, and you can recreate the jam with either Rosa canina or Rosa rugosa.

  • 500ml water

  • 900g jam sugar (or caster sugar and a measure of pectin)

  • 100g fresh Rose petals, removed from the flower head

  • 1 small punnet of strawberries

  • 2 small or 1 large cooking apple

  • Juice of 2x lemons

  • 1 tbsp. cornstarch (optional)

In a large pan, combine the water and the jam sugar and bring to the boil.

Meanwhile, pull all the petals off the flower heads, and rinse under cool water;
Peel and finely dice the cooking apple;
Hull and dice the strawberries.

Add the petals, strawberries and apples to the large pan and simmer on a rolling boil for 20 - 30 minutes. Add the lemon juice which has had a tablespoon of corn starch mixed through it, and cook for a further 10 minutes.

Jar immediately, while still very hot. Shelf stable for 4-6 months.

Lemon Balm cooler Honey syrup

  • 1 cup raw honey

  • 200ml water

  • 1 cup Lemon Balm leaves

  • 1 cup Peppermint leaves

  • 1 cup Elderflowers

Bring the water to the boil, and pour over the herbs in a heat-proof ceramic bowl. Leave the herbs to infuse the water for 1-3 hours; you are making a very strong herbal infusion / tisane.

Remove the herbs by pouring the infusion through a sieve.

Add the honey to the infusion and stir to dissolve. If it is slow to dissolve, you might warm the infused water very gently, to no more than 35oC. Bottle, and label,

Store in the fridge, for up to 10 days.

Add a splash to fizzy water for a refreshing summer-time drink, or drizzle over yogurt or pancakes.