How to cook samphire
Appearing more and more on restaurant menus and dinner tables across the country, delicious samphire is becoming a widely popular ingredient. Grown on the south east coast of England, this fleshy green plant is known for its distinctive salty taste and is often compared to asparagus in terms of appearance.
Samphire is seasonal in summer and can be eaten raw in salads or seafood dishes, but you’ll often find it is served cooked or steamed as a side dish. Here, we’ll show you how to cook samphire in your recipes at home.
How to prepare samphire
Samphire has its own distinctive texture and taste, so it often doesn’t need any other flavours added to it, especially not salt. That’s because samphire only grows in salty coastal soil, so it takes on the deep salty flavours.
To prepare samphire to be eaten raw in salads or seafood, be sure to rinse well before eating. It can also be added as a garnish in drinks like gin and tonic for extra flavour. Learning how to cook samphire is simple. Just rinse thoroughly and trim off any tough ends, breaking up any large clumps. Bring a pan of water to the boil and tip the chopped samphire in. Lower the temperature of the water down to a simmer and cook for 2-3 minutes until tender.
Once cooked, drain well and add a knob of butter while the samphire is hot. Season with a simple sprinkle of ground black pepper to contrast with the saltiness and enjoy!
Now that you know how to cook samphire, why not explore our range of succulent side dish recipes?
