Hogweed shoots on sourdough toast with poached eggs and burnt butter by Rupert Waites, head chef and chief forager at Buck and Birch

SPRING has been held back this year. The Beast from the East has finally relinquished its grip and what is usually a steady progression of offerings has been condensed into a frenzied blur of activity.

At Buck and Birch we have been busy as ever; harvesting the first of the wild botanicals for our Aelder Elixir, gathering sap for syrup, flowers for wine, stems and buds to pickle, and checking all and any potential mushroom spots for signs of their ever enigmatic fruit.

It’s a wonder there is any time to eat!

As ever though, nature provides, and this recipe is one of the real delights in the calendar.

Packed with protein, vitamins, minerals and flavour, hogweed (Heracleum sphondylium) is to be found in hedgerows and path sides up and down
every lane.

Not to be mistaken for its huge cousin, the giant hogweed, it is a most tasty plant and the first of its offerings are the tender basal shoots, elegantly unfurling like little velvet gloved hands. 

A bit of care needs to be taken as always with identification, and gloves should always be worn, as people can very occasionally have a skin reaction to the raw sap.

The research, however, is worth it. Hogweed shoots make a good breakfast or a decent lunch; they are ready in roughly the time it takes to poach an egg and make some toast. 

INGREDIENTS 
2 fresh eggs
A small handful of cleaned and drained hogweed shoots (enough to cover the toast) 
Sourdough bread
A knob of butter, plus extra for serving
Dehydrated tubular weed
Tablespoon of vinegar
Sea salt

METHOD 
1 Half fill a saucepan with water and add the vinegar. Bring the water to a simmer and gently crack the eggs in, being careful not to break the yolk. 
2 Bring the water back to a simmer and turn off the hob, letting the eggs cook in the residual heat.
3 In a fairly hot frying pan, add a large knob of butter and the hogweed shoots turning often.
4 Toast the sourdough, and remove the eggs from the pan with a slotted spoon while the yolks are still runny. Keep the eggs warm on a plate placed over the pan. 
5 The shoots are ready when they begin to crisp around the edges, and they can be kept warm with the eggs. 
6 Wipe the frying pan, return it to a high heat, and add a tablespoon of butter. Watch it closely, and swirl it around the pan until it froths up and changes to a nutty brown colour. 
7. To serve, arrange the hogweed shoots in a nest on the toast, and top with the poached eggs. Dress with sea salt and the dehydrated tubular weed, and drizzle on the butter to serve. 

In association with Taste Communications.

www.tastecommunications.co.uk