A wild twist on a Greek classic, using fresh July greens.
Ingredients:
Method:
Blanch nettles, then chop both greens finely.
Sauté the onion and garlic until soft, then add the greens and cook briefly.Let cool, then mix with crumbled feta and beaten egg.
Layer filo in an oiled baking tray, brushing each sheet with olive oil.
Spread filling, fold or roll, and bake at 180°C for 30–40 minutes.
Where to Find It
Loves damp places — riverbanks, ditches, wet meadows. Tall with creamy, frothy flowers and a sweet almond scent.
What to Pick
The flowers — harvest before they begin to brown.
How to Use It
Where to Find It
Grassy meadows, verges, and dry, open land. Recognisable by its feathery leaves and flat-topped white or pink flower clusters.
Where to Find It
Edges of woodland paths, grasslands, and hedgerows. Look low to the ground for trailing plants with small trifoliate leaves and tiny red berries.
What to Pick
The tiny, fragrant berries — fully red and ripe.
How to Use It
Delicately herbal and fruity — a celebration of July hedgerows.
Ingredients:
Method:
Heat the milk with yarrow leaves gently — do not boil — then let steep 10 minutes.
Strain and return to heat with sugar, cream, and beaten yolks.
Stir constantly until it thickens slightly.
Cool, then blend in the strawberries and chill.
Churn in an ice cream maker or freeze in a container, stirring every hour.
This recipe needs time but rewards your patience with deep, fruity richness.
Ingredients:
Method (simplified):
Crush the fruit, pour over boiling water, and stir in half the sugar.
Add Campden tablet and leave for 24 hours.Add yeast and ferment in a covered bucket for 5–7 days.
Strain into a demijohn, add remaining sugar, and fit an airlock
Leave to ferment 4–6 weeks until bubbling stops.
Rack off the sediment, bottle, and age at least 6 months.
July is a turning point in the foraging calendar — the blooms of early summer start to give way to the first flush of fruits and seeds. It’s a time of richness, and a chance to taste what the season has ripened with care.
As always, forage mindfully: take only what you need, leave plenty for wildlife, and be sure of your plant ID before consuming anything. With a basket in one hand and time to wander, July offers a little magic in every hedgerow.
Happy foraging!