Foraging In Skye With Native Chef Calum Munro

If you've been following us for a while, you may well remember the time when we decided to channel our inner forager and explore the wild culinary delights of Skye. It feels like a long time ago, but the memories are still as vivid and the lessons just as prickly (thanks, gorse bushes!).

As we dust off our foraging boots and reminisce about our escapades, it's clear that the thrill of discovering edible treasures on our beautiful island hasn't faded! From dodging thorns to mastering the art of distinguishing between delicious greens and potential organ-failure-inducing look-alikes, our journey with Calum Munro from Scorrybreac Restaurant was both enlightening and, let's be honest, occasionally punctuated by startled yelps. Read on to remind yourself...

Calum Munro, owner and chef at Scorrybreac Restaurant, very kindly agreed to guide us through the whole process, and upon our arrival, he graciously refrains from calling us out on our inappropriate foraging footwear.

Before you set out, make sure you have a basket or bucket to collect your spoils; wearing wellies or boots is apparently a good idea too. Gloves and secateurs are not essential but are handy if you are going in deep. As we plan to gather some gorse (which can be a tricky customer), we are suitably armed with both.

By far, the most important aspect of foraging is ensuring that you correctly identify many delicious and edible plants that look unnervingly similar to not-so-delicious and very poisonous plants. We enlisted Calum's help to ensure we stay on track. There are a plethora of foraging guides and apps that can assist with this, but little else beats being shown by an expert. Unless you’re Julia Roberts in Steel Magnolias, there’s nothing cute about organ failure, so tread carefully and ensure you are properly educated before you go gathering.

We begin our hunt in Portree, in an area of shaded woodland close to the shoreline. We don't need to venture much further afield because it’s incredible how much of the flora and fauna here are edible and easy to access.

Our first port of call is wild garlic. April is when it reaches its peak in terms of growth, although it can be found as early as February right through until June. It is a versatile green leafy vegetable that tastes and smells, well, like… garlic. There is a robustness to the plant that makes it a delicious addition to soup and pesto. We find the wild garlic in a damp wooded area beside a picturesque waterfall; the plant loves this kind of habitat and the whole hillside is swathed with its lovely broad green leaves. The smell is unmistakable - we pull the plant out from the root and pile the basket high. We give the leaves a rinse in the river to get rid of excess dirt and will give it a proper wash later in the kitchen.

Next up is gorse, ubiquitous across the British countryside and known for its yellow blossoms and delicate aroma of coconut. Finding a gorse bush is easy, but foraging comes at a price - the thorns on the gorse bush are prickly, mean, and downright nasty. No matter how hard we try, there are frequent yelps as we are stabbed while picking the petals off the bush; a glove is an absolute necessity. The pain is absolutely worth it though, as the petals can be dried and made into tea, syrups, and desserts.

Our final forage of the day is for the prettiest of weeds, the humble yet sassy dandelion. We pick these from the side of the road; it’s not glamorous, but if that’s where the dandelion wants to propagate, then good for her for being so secure in herself. Dandelions must be picked in the morning and ideally in sunlight. Once picked, they need to be dealt with quickly as they like a little downtime in the afternoon and close up. We snip the heads off the stems and layer them with sugar in a jar; they are oh so bitter - one little nibble of the leaf has us reeling. Calum will leave these in the jar for four days, then add some boiling water to make a syrup that can be used to make a fresh and bitter cordial.

It takes us around half an hour to find all these edible treats, and they are all within walking distance of one another. Calum points out a myriad of other forageable plants such as watercress, scurvy grass, and the beginning of elderflower. Now we head back to the kitchen with Calum to rustle up a wild garlic velouté.

Once we are safely ensconced in the Scorrybreac kitchen, we properly wash the wild garlic, chop off the roots (these are similar to a spring onion, and the leafy bits are similar to spinach so can be added last), and dice up some fennel, celery, and potato. Calum sweats them off, then adds stock, wild garlic, a dash of cream, and then whizzes up and serves with a crowdie, oatmeal, and pea shoot garnish - et voilà, delicious!