Advertorial: British Coastal Vegetables unearthed at Westlands

The ‘Taste of the Sea’ range from Westlands is an exclusive collection of coastal vegetables with distinctive tempting flavours and saline qualities.

Just over 8 years ago, we were one of the first growers in the UK to start cultivating Marsh Samphire, also known as Salicornia, at our nursery in the Vale of Evesham. Samphire traditionally had only been available for a limited period of time each year. Eating quality, salinity and cleanliness varied greatly across this short season. Fitting with our kudos for exciting innovative fresh products, Westlands has developed a unique growing technique to recreate the coastal seashore conditions. This enables us to regulate salt concentrations to deliver a consistent and desirable balanced taste. We harvest the succulent stems for an incredible 6 month British season and are working hard to extend this even further.

Complementing the rest of the Westland product portfolio, the ‘Taste of the Sea’ label now comprises of a cultivated range of 12 typically foraged plants, many native to the UK shoreline. Offering a diverse and unusual appeal they deliver contrasting textures, flavours and visual structure to your culinary creation. Called halophytes (meaning salt tolerating plants) their saltiness also naturally enhances the taste of other ingredients in the dish.

Our first group of coastal veg are typically used in generous quantities, traditionally lightly wilted in butter and served as a tasty side dish with fish, seafood or saltmarsh lamb. Available in range of pack sizes - 100 g, 250 g, 500 g and 1 kg 

Samphire (Salicornia)

• UK season May to October
• A cactus-like fleshy succulent; another common name is ‘sea asparagus’ for which flavour and texture are compared
• From ‘herbe de Saint-Pierre’ meaning ‘St Peters Herb’, the patron saint of travellers
• Gently sauté or steam, use to make green sauces, add to soups or pickle in a spiced vinegar

Sea Spray (Sea Blite)

• UK season May to October
• A new addition to the Westlands range and a forager’s favourite!
• Beautiful sprigs with narrow arrow pointed leaves on a succulent tasty stem
• Eat raw in salads or lightly steam the whole stems or strip off the individual leaves. Good for pickling
• Romeritos (Little Rosemary) is a traditional Mexican sea blite dish, served with shrimp patties or potatoes in a mole sauce, enjoyed at Christmas and Lent

Sea Aster       

• UK Season April to October
• Tender salty flat leaves with a subtle sweetness, it looks a bit like wild garlic
• Also known as Sea Spinach, it keeps a good texture with gentle short cooking. Also a perfect partner with slow cooked tomato and garlic sauces
• Widely found over Europe, the Romans classically fried whole leaves with olive oil, pine nuts, garlic and a squeeze of lemon juice. Delicious!

Sea Beet        

• UK Season October to April
• The wild ancestor of cultivated perpetual spinach, Swiss chard and beetroots
• Rich luscious nutritious leaves harvested throughout the winter period – they squeak when you pick them!
• A versatile British native, used like spinach but with a superior fuller flavour
• Boil, blanch, steam, wilt, pickle, ferment or just eat raw – superb in soups, tarts and salads

Ice Lettuce [120 g]

• UK season April to November
• A glistening leafy succulent known as ficoïde glaciale in France, it’s got nothing to do with Iceberg lettuce!
• Native to South Africa, the leaves and stems are covered in little bladder cells of salty water, looks like a cats tongue?
• The thick, juicy and fleshy leaves have a slight salty tang with distinctive lemony bite and are used raw in salads or quickly seared in hot oil and served with fish

Okahijiki [100 g]

• UK season May to Sep
• A salsola native to east Asia, closely related to fashionable Agretti or Monk’s Beard
• Meaning ‘Land Seaweed’, the grass-like, nutritious fronds have a crunchy but tender texture and a minerally salty sweet taste with a hint of bitterness
• As a traditional Japanese leaf, use raw in salads or sushi, lightly cooked adding texture to stir-fries, dry fried as a crispy snack or juiced
• Can be used in place of Agretti, cooked with garlic and olive oil and served with mustard or vinegar

Oyster Leaf

• Leaves available March to October [30 g] and flowers June to October [20 g]
• Found growing wild on Scottish shingle beaches, the leaves’ taste resemble the brininess and earthiness of oysters
• The glaucous fleshy green blue leaves pack a punch of salt and mushrooms with a touch of minerals, and a fresh crisp and crunchy texture
• Beautiful nodding clusters of bell flowers, in the family borage blue, finish a fish dish fantastically

Rock Samphire

• Leaves available April to November [40 g] and flowers August to March [30 g]
• Not to be confused with the unrelated marsh samphire; it’s also commonly known as sea fennel, hinting at its carrot family origins
• The difficult practice of wild collecting from the cliffs of southern and western Britain has gained it a dangerous reputation
• Attractive, fleshy divided leaves have a pleasant, hot and spicy taste and are used fresh in salads, or pickled in spiced vinegar. The decorative yellowish green umbels add a slight aromatic bitterness to a dish

Salty Fingers [60 g]

• Available all year round
• Described as a green salty Jelly Bean that pops in the mouth!
• Add leaves to salads and stir-fries, use as a salty garnish or simply pickle. Chop the fingers as a relish with meat
• The mildly salty gelatinous pulp makes a fun juicy jelly

Sea Buck’s Horn [40 g]

• Available all year round
• The narrow spikey leaves resemble miniature deer antlers
• Often known as Minutina or Erba Stella, the ‘star herb’ is a prized leaf in Italy
• The mild sweet nutty taste and crunchy texture is perfect in a salad, particularly in a bitter sweet ‘misticanza’ wild greens mix
• Simply pan fried, it can be used in oriental dishes or to complement basic seafood, cooked vegetables or meat

Sea Purslane [50 g]   

• Available all year round
• A British native, with matt green plump fleshy leaves and a salty green taste
• Eat the leaves, to add saltiness like a caper, either raw or gently blanched. Versatile with lamb or partner with green herbs
• Try dehydrating, grinding and used as a seasoning

Sea Rosemary            [40 g]

• Available all year round
• Also known as an Aussie Sea Fern, its similar to Sea Spray but with shorter fleshy leaves and an attractive tender red stem
• Used raw, pickled or cooked quickly, the sprigs have a wonderful crisp texture and subtle salty taste

For information on the full Westlands product range including seasonality and simple product pairings, please visit our website at www.westlandswow.co.uk.  Watch this space for new and exciting product launches! For social media, join us at facebook.com/WestlandsWow or tweet us @WestlandsWow.

Westlands products are available nationwide from leading foodservice suppliers and wholesale markets. Speak to your supplier or contact us at [email protected] to find a stockist in your area. Our products are grown and packed to BRC Food Safety, Red Tractor Assurance and LEAF Marque standards. Your feedback is very important to us; please contact us with any comments or suggestions for new product ideas.

Westlands are Growers for Chefs!