Did you know that you can eat hazel catkins? For the forager there isn't much going on in Winter, and the sight of hazel catkins can offer something beyond the promise of Spring.
Packed full of pollen, and therefore protein, hazel catkins are the male part of the hazel tree. If you don't know how to identify hazel trees in Winter, you can check out this video:
Gofio is a traditional food from the Canary Islands that is made from toasted grains, with sweet or savoury applications. It is often used to make a porridge or to thicken soups and stews. It is very similar to harina tostada that you can find in many South American cuisines. If you don't fancy making hazel catkin gofio, hazel catkins can make a good tea too; just pop it in a mug with some boiling water.
To make this version of gofio, we first toasted some oats until they became fragrant, and then put them aside. Then, we toasted the hazel catkins and added a touch of cinnamon and honey. We then blended the toasted oats and catkins together to form a powder. This powder can be used to make a porridge, be added to baked goods such as flapjack, or used as a cereal topper.