This salty sea vegetable makes for rather a punchy green side dish, and is strong enough to carry other bold flavours. I've paired it here with some cherry tomatoes and chunks of garlic which balances the saltiness out rather nicely. It sounds incredibly exotic, but it's actually native to the United Kingdom and should be available in greengrocers and some larger supermarkets - I found mine in my local Sainsbury's. It goes particularly nicely with fish.
What's the A to V?
As a sea vegetable samphire is a great source of iodine and selenium, and is also high in vitamin C.
Ingredients (serves 4):
Sesame or olive oil
1 bunch or packet of samphire (roughly 80g)
6 cherry tomatoes, halved
2 large cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
Method
Drizzle your oil into a saucepan and heat. Add in your garlic and tomatoes and stir for a couple of minutes until softened and just starting to brown.
Add in your samphire, and cook on a low heat for no more than 5 minutes. You want your samphire to have softened and slightly wilted, but not to be overcooked.