Here at the Sanctuary, many of our team are advocates of foraging and collecting food for free. This goes hand-in-hand with falconry, where traditionally the birds of prey would have been used to catch game such as partridge or rabbit for dinner.
Keeper Jennie with the Giant Puffball.
Jess was delighted to discover a giant Puffball fungus on site recently. Unfortunately, it was accidently dislodged during some ground clearance work, otherwise it would have been left as they are quite rare! After marvelling at the size of it, she cut it into portions so that any of the staff and volunteers who wanted to try some could take home and cook. Here Jess shares her favourite way to eat this delicacy.
Slice your fungus into pieces (ideally of equal size/ depth!)
Heat up some butter in a frying pan
Add plenty of fresh garlic.
Add the fungus and fry until it is golden brown
A puffball this size also makes an excellent base for a pizza, which can be covered in tomato puree, cheese and your favourite toppings before being pan fried or cooked in the oven.
PLEASE NOTE! Giant Puffballs are fairly easy to identify but there are many species of mushrooms and other fungi found in the UK which can cause harm if eaten. We suggest attending a foraging workshop first to make sure you know all you need to know, including getting land owners permission and not over exploiting nature’s bounty. If in doubt, leave alone!