Go on a course: finding wild food

'Having enjoyed some mushrooms gathered by a friend, I was keen to find out more about the edible treats the countryside has to offer - and whether I could make use of any of the weeds in my back garden. Fortunately, within the first hour of the Food for Free course held at Assington Mill, botanist Nick Miller and local countryman Alan Adcock had led us out on a field walk and were pointing out a number of species from which to rustle up a hedgerow salad - dandelions included.

'As well as the salads (wild lettuce, hawthorn and sorrel), they explained that others could be cooked like spinach or used for soup (mallow, nettles and hogweed). They also showed us which species to avoid (such as foxgloves and hemlock) and, rather importantly, how to tell the difference.

'A second walk, through woodland and along a river bank, and a morning spent discussing food meant we were all ravenous by lunch time. In keeping with the day, we ate a casserole of locally caught rabbit and a delicious sea beet and St George's mushroom quiche, accompanied by the salad we had collected that morning.

'In the afternoon, local chef Emily White demonstrated recipes using our wild finds. The assortment of herbal teas was greeted with varying degrees of enthusiasm but my favourite dishes - wild-garlic soup and nettle haggis - were popular with everyone.

'Another tutor, John Warner, moved us on from leaves, fungi and berries to the meat that can be harvested from the countryside, demonstrating how to skin and joint a rabbit ready for the pot. As I'm not quite ready for that yet, I think I'll concentrate on cultivating my nettles for supper instead.'

The Food for Free course costs £35 (for the day, including lunch) and is held at Assington Mill, Assington, Sudbury, Suffolk (01787 229955; www.assingtonmill.com).

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