Rock samphire ✦

Criste marine

What it is

Crithmum maritimum grows straight out of sea cliffs, and Shakespeare hangs a man halfway down one gathering it in King Lear, calling it a ”dreadful trade” — worth the risk because pickled samphire sold well in London. It is an umbellifer, kin to carrot and fennel, which is why it smells resinous and nothing like the salicornia sold under the same English name.

In the kitchen

Blanch it 30 seconds and pickle it in a brine of two parts vinegar to one of water with fennel seed; raw it is aggressively medicinal, and the blanch is what makes it edible. Never salt the brine, as the plant brings its own.

Goes with

White wine vinegar Fennel Lemon Olive oil Mackerel Coriander seed Bay leaf

In season alongside

Salt marsh lamb Bronte pistachio Epazote Génépi Hojiso (shiso flower spikes) Hyssop

Something wrong here, or missing? Tell us