What to grow, forage, shop and cook as September draws to a close

Duck and Spiced Blackberry Sauce. Picture: Kate Ryan
SEPTEMBER eases us into autumn and soothes the pain of waving goodbye to summer by unleashing a bounty of wild foods. The prospect of gathering them up and bringing them back to the kitchen to make delicious preserves and pickles makes this my favourite month of the year!




- Mix up a salt brine of one-part salt to four parts water, enough to submerge the seeds. Place seeds in a jar, pour over brine, screw on lid, and leave for a couple of days.
- Pour seeds into a sieve and rinse under a cold tap. Sterilise a new jar.
- Into a saucepan over a medium heat, add vinegar and sugar. Bring to the boil and allow the sugar to dissolve.
- Place the rinsed seeds into the sterilised jar, pour over the pickling liquor, top with a bay leaf and screw the lid on tight.
- Leave to rest for two weeks before using.

- Rinse the berries, add them to a saucepan with honey and cook for 30 minutes until pulpy.
- Strain the mix through a fine sieve, squeezing as much liquid as possible. Return to the saucepan, add the sugar, bring to the boil and cook for five minutes or until thickened.
- Decant into a sterilised jar and allow to cool. Refrigerate to set.
- Soak the carrageen moss in some lukewarm water for 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, into a heavy bottomed saucepan, pour the buttermilk, cream and vanilla bean paste. Strain the carrageen moss and add to the milky mixture. Place over a medium heat, bring to the boil, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes.
- Pour the milk mixture through a sieve, and squeeze out as much of the liquid as possible.
- Into a separate bowl, add the egg yolk and sugar and whisk to combine. Slowly add the hot milk mixture whisking all the time to avoid scrambling the egg.
- In a clean bowl, add the egg white and whisk to a stiff peak. Fold gently into the milk mixture and pour into a serving bowl.
- Place in the fridge for a minimum of 4-6 hours to fully set.
- To serve, spoon out a portion of the pudding into a bowl and top with some of the Sea Buckthorn sauce.

- Place everything except brown sugar and butter into a saucepan and cook gently for 15 minutes.
- Crush the blackberries with a potato masher, add brown sugar and cook for another 5 minutes.
- Pass the liquid through a fine sieve and return to the saucepan. Place over a low heat, add butter, swirl to melt and combine. Cook until reduced by half. The sauce should be glossy and coating, but not thick and sticky.
- Spoon over duck breast and garnish with more fresh blackberries.