Jesse's Diets is our ongoing seasonal wild food commentary for the Pembrokeshire area. Please feel free to email any comments or recipes. If you publicise your mushroom sites you've only got yourself to blame!

8th July

This week, I have been mostly eating….Chanterelles, Marsh Samphire, and Wild Strawberries! Yes wild food fans, the Chanterelles have begun! This most delicious of fungi is now sprouting in earnest in your favourite spots, so pick it before someone else does. There are two recipes in the recipe section – the most uncomplicated way to eat them is in an omelette after frying them up with garlic and parsley.

The samphire is now at that kind of midway stage where you eat the smaller ones straight down, and the bigger ones need the teeth-pulling technique (the samphire gets pulled, not your teeth - this is not a meeting with your MP).The best way to cook samphire is in boiling water for no longer than ten minutes, then serve hot smothered in vegan margarine, lemon juice and pepper. Alternatively,blanch it first in boiling water for 30 seconds, drain and then fry it up with melted butter and lemon juice for a couple of minutes. We have just put some under white wine vinegar to pickle (don't blanch beforehand - it loses it's colour), and even after a day the results are decidedly tasty. A good Pembrokeshire harvesting spot is Garron Pill, at low tide on the Lawrenny side of the foreshore.

Wild strawberries are in a class of their own when it comes to flavour. They are also, alas, in a class of their own when it comes to size. Richard Mabey recommends using a handful in a glass of champagne. While this certainly appeals to the good time instincts of WWV HQ, using our very nice summer pudding recipe means they'll last a bit longer in your kitchen.