Buttered Sea Veg With Poached Eggs

Salt marshes are home to some of the most nutritious and delicious wild plants out there. Take marsh samphire for example, it's commonly used in seafood restaurants as well as some of the top gourmet restaurants in London and everywhere in between. Delicate, beautiful, and with that distinctive salt marsh flavour that most of these plants share. 

However, I'm not a huge fan of marsh samphire, I'd pick any of these three over it every time. 

The strange thing is these are so underrated yet abundant, so why the hell aren't more people picking them?! 

If I were a chef again, I'd be out foraging in my spare time for free alternatives to marsh samphire because in or out of season- it's extortionate.

All of these plants will go just as well with your ornate fish dishes, bouillabaisse, seafood pasta/risotto and perhaps be a little more palatable than the rich tasting marsh samphire.

Common Orache - Atriplex Patula

Sea Aster - Tripolium Pannonicum

Sea Purslane - Sesuvium Portulacastrum

Drop a handful of each of these sea veggies into boiling water for about 2 minutes.

Drain.

Meanwhile, melt butter in a pan with olive oil, add your drained veg and a pinch of black pepper, toss to ensure they are covered in buttery goodness. 

Serve on toasted bread topped with poached eggs.