ST201906

FORAGING

Understandably, most samphire

dishes lean towards seafood, but

it’s wonderful just treated as a

vegetable. Quickly cooked in butter

and lemon and served with a ball of

creamy mozzarella (and a hunk of

bread to soak up the juices), it makes

the most ridiculously moreish lunch.

Serves 2

50g butter

2 cloves garlic, crushed

A handful of samphire, washed and

chopped

Juice of ½ lemon

1 ball of mozzarella (ideally

buffalo mozzarella)

A hunk of good bread

1 Heat the butter in a pan until

foaming. Add the garlic and cook for

1 minute, then stir in the samphire until

coated in the butter. Bubble for

another minute or so, then squeeze

over the lemon juice and season with

just a few grinds of black pepper

(samphire is already salty enough).

2 Tip onto two plates, split the

mozzarella between the plates and

eat immediately with the bread.

Lia Leendertz writes about gardens, food

and the British year, and is the author of

The Almanac: A Seasonal Guide to 2019

(Mitchell Beazley).

Buttered samphire

with mozzarella

A handful of samphire
turns a simple board of
bread and cheese into
something a bit fancy