Pignut

Summer at last! The hedgerows are swathed in billowing may-blossom and at their feet the wayside flowers scramble for light amidst the towering greenery, but look past the riot of growth and you may discover the elusive pignut.

I say elusive, for despite being a fairly common plant the pignut has a near mythical status, although what would one expect from the staple food of Irish leprechauns? The problem is that the rather unimposing pignut is best identified whilst in flower during May and June and is therefore easily overlooked due to the abundance of other flowers and foliage. However if you take the time to locate and familiarise yourself with one, they will suddenly appear everywhere - as if by magic. Verges and woodland edges are the places to look for the simple flat flower heads crowded with white florets. They are held aloft to the height of a foot or so by slender stems from which emerge sparse frond-like leaves – it is a plant of understated elegance and quiet beauty. Having located the plant, one might be disappointed to find that the job is only half complete, for the edible portion is below ground. However, extraction is simple enough and involves tracing the stem downwards to the smallish ‘nut’ nestling a couple of inches or so beneath the turf. Years ago grubbing pignuts was a favourite summer pastime for country children although it was not always encouraged, as expressed by a wonderfully verbose Victorian botanist. ‘They are better fitted to the digestion of the resectable quadrupeds, whose name they share, than the Christian bipeds of tender years.’

As a foodstuff the pignut must be viewed as a novelty - a tasty morsel to be unearthed and nibbled on a country walk, or taken home and used sparingly in the kitchen. I say this because their extraction necessitates killing the plant and therefore I would never advocate their collection on a large scale. Having said this, the knobbly tubers are very tasty, starchy and sweet with a definite note of nuttiness and well worth a try. They can be eaten raw once the papery skin is removed, but can also be braised in stock or roasted like chestnuts. Pignuts are the shy, retiring wild food of early summer, but given a chance they are up there with the best. Why not turn the tables and make them the crowning glory of a hedgerow green salad?

Nuts Over Hedgerow Greens

6 pignuts peeled and cleaned, wild salad leaves including: dandelion, hairy bitter cress, chickweed (or cultivated salad leaves), balsamic vinegar, olive oil

Cut pignuts roughly and toast in a dry pan until light brown.
Cut salad leaves roughly and dress with oil and vinegar.
Pile salad into a bowl and top with toasted pignuts.