This buttery garlic lemon samphire recipe is the perfect side dish with fish. If you're looking for how to cook samphire then this recipe is easy to make and full of flavour.
A few years ago I hadn't even heard of samphire. Then it started popping up on various food programmes. Slowly but surely I started to want to try it. Every time I saw it on tv I told myself I needed to look out for some. Then promptly forgot.
A few weeks ago I was doing my online shop not intending to buy samphire at all when suddenly it appeared next to something else I was searching for. Click. Into the basket it went.
But what is samphire?
Samphire is a coastal plant that grows in some places in the UK. Because of where it grows it is quite a salty vegetable, high in minerals. You can sometimes eat it raw but it can be quite stringy. It is best to boil it for a minute so it becomes tender.
Other names for samphire
Samphire is also as sea beans, sea asparagus, sea pickle and salicornia. You may also hear of rock samphire but that is not the same, it's a different vegetable.
Lemon and garlic go so well with samphire!
I hadn't planned to buy it and certainly hadn't planned how to cook samphire. But, lemons, garlic and butter are pretty standard kitchen staples. It wasn't long before I had managed to put together a very tasty lemon and garlic samphire side dish. In even less time we had eaten it all up.
I surprised myself. It had just been a rather tasty kitchen experiment. The strong flavours of the salty samphire came together with the garlic and lemon to create a vegetable side dish that I definitely wanted to make again.
I really hadn't expected buttered samphire to be quite so tasty and so there were no pictures. The only evidence of my delicious garlic and lemon samphire was a small dirty pile of washing up. And possibly some slightly pungent breath.
A couple of weeks later the experiment was repeated, although slightly less experimentally. I could vary it. But I just don't want to. Not for now anyway.
What to serve with this samphire recipe?
I have to admit that I almost always serve this lemon and garlic samphire with fish. It's a great side dish with sea bass, cod or any white fish. I usually just grill or lightly fry the fish but sometimes bake it in the oven in a parcel.
You can also serve this buttery samphire with roasted chicken and new potatoes. The sauce from the samphire makes it into a delicious easy meal.
Ingredients for garlic and lemon samphire
To make this buttery lemon and garlic samphire recipe you'll need:
- Samphire - Fresh samphire, ideally younger shoots that are not too woody. If any of the shoots are particularly woody, remove them.
- Butter - Salted or unsalted depending on what you have. Samphire can be salty though so I prefer unsalted. You can always add extra salt at the table if necessary.
- Olive oil
- Garlic - It has to be fresh garlic!
- Lemon - Fresh lemon is definitely best for this
How else can you eat samphire?
Samphire is also great in salads. As I mentioned above, it can be a bit tough when it is uncooked so before you make the salad, prepare a bowl of iced water. Boil the samphire for one minute. Drain it and then put it in the iced water. Leave it for 5 minutes and then drain it again.
It's delicious mixed with tomatoes and balsamic vinegar in this samphire salad recipe.
Can you freeze samphire?
If you have too much samphire then you can freeze it. It's best to follow the steps above so boil it for a minute. Drain it. Freeze it in an airtight container. It should keep for up to a month.
Ways to adapt this recipe
This samphire recipe is super simple and any changes will make it quite different. However, you could add a few capers or some thinly sliced onion to the sauce along with the garlic.
If you sometimes find lemony sauces overpowering, be careful when adding the lemon juice. Just add half the lemon juice and then stir in a little more. Or add half the lemon and then squeeze more onto the samphire when it's on the plate.
Recipe
Buttery lemon garlic samphire recipe
Ingredients
- 100 g samphire
- 50 g butter
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 lemon juiced
Instructions
- Put the samphire into a pan of boiling water for 1 minute then drain.
- Heat the oil and butter in a frying pan or wok then add the garlic. Cook it gently for a couple of minute till it browns slightly.
- Add the samphire and heat through. Stir in the lemon juice at the end. If you don't want it to be too sharp stir in half, taste and then add a bit more.
Notes
Nutrition
More Vegetable Side Dish Recipes
If you like this samphire recipe then do have a look at one of my other vegetable side dish recipes!
And the BBC has some more recipe ideas for samphire too.
KEEP IN TOUCH
Do let me know if you make this lemon and garlic samphire or any of my other recipes. I love to get feedback from readers.
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Anita Graylish
Absolutely fantastic! I have made samphire for years but could never figure out how to get rid of the salty taste. This worked wonders. I have shared to recipe with friends and family and they loved it. Only thing I did different was to use only half a lemon.
Corina Blum
Hi Anita, I'm so pleased you liked the recipe and really happy that your friends and family like it too.
Corina
Kesha
A great recipe, my 5 year old and myself love samphire cooked this way! Yum!
Corina Blum
Thanks for letting me know Kesha. I'm so pleased you both like the recipe!
Adrienne Pratt
Bought some samphire in my local market and this was the first recipe I found for using it. I absolutely adored it but with a very important exception - this is waaaaaay too much lemon juice! Whoah did my mouth pucker while I ate it. I just made it again with less than half a lemon and it's debatable whether that's still too much. My advice - add to taste. Some people may also prefer less garlic but I belong to the "there is no such thing as too much garlic" school of thought :-). Thanks!
Corina Blum
I definitely agree about adding to taste! That's what I always do and we love lots of lemon and garlic. It could be that the lemon I used was less juicy than your one too!
Susan
Great combination of flavours. For those who have never heard of them before, they go by many other names such as sea asparagus!
Corina Blum
Thanks Susan! I'll have to add that to the post as it would be helpful for people to know.
Helena Deakin
Very tasty recipe, will definitely save for my recipe book. Thank you for sharing it
Corina Blum
I'm really pleased you liked it Helena!
Nicole C Tingwall
This is the perfect side for our thanksgiving turkey! Can't wait to add it to the menu!
Corina Blum
I hope you like it! Garlic and lemon are a great combination.
Demeter
Oh this looks like the perfect holiday side dish! And I love that lemon garlic flavor combo. 🙂
Corina Blum
Me too! Lemon and garlic is such a classic combination isn't it?
Jessica Formicola
Garlic and lemon is my favorite flavor combo! This looks great!
Corina Blum
Thanks Jessica! I am a huge fan of garlic and lemon too - they're perfect with so many things.
Amy | The Cook Report
I've never tried cooking samphire but it sounds so delicious!
Corina Blum
I tried it for the first time a few years ago and we love it now. I have to admit I always cook it like this though so I probably should step out of my comfort zone and do something different with it next time!
SeattleDee
Foraged samphire (sea asparagus) has been an interesting ingredient to play with. I think its best when pickled, but your butter/garlic/lemon version sounds tempting.
Christine
Not only have I never tried samphire, I've never even heard of it. This is why I love blogging. Thanks for linking up at #SaucySaturdays.
Corina
You're welcome!
Lili
Interesting experiment! I'll keep an eye out for samphire. Thank you! 🙂
Corina
I hope you manage to find some!
Lili
Might get funny looks in Spain when I try to explain it. Will wait till I visit the UK! 🙂
Sarah 'n Spice
I have never heard of this before, but I want to give it a try now. The recipe looks so fresh and delicious!
Corina
Thank you.
Ruth
I'd never heard of Samphire before but this certainly sounds like it's right up my street with all that agrlic - I might even add a chilli for an extra kick 🙂
Corina
That would definitely be an interesting variation - and one that I might try!
Julie is Hostess At Heart
I've never heard of this before but it looks delicious! Thank you for introducing it to me! I love seeing new ingredients to experiment with.
Corina
Thank you.
Hayley (@SnapHappyBakes)
Love recipes that start out as kitchen experiments but end up being household favourites! This sound delicious! Thanks for linking to #CookBlogShare
Elaine @ foodbod
I've never tried samphire but it's definitely on my list 🙂
Corina
I'm sure you could find some really inventive ways to use it too!
Elaine @ foodbod
Maybe 😉
Jess
This looks like a very healthy, refreshing dish Corina. Happy FF 🙂