Nuts in May

There's traditional children's song in the British Isles that starts

Here we go gathering nuts in May,
Nuts in May, nuts in May,
Here we go gathering nuts in May,
On a cold and frosty morning.

It sounds like a nonsense rhyme: frost, in May? Well, sometimes. But nuts in May? Surely not? No, not from trees but underground. May is the month to gather pig nuts or earth nuts which is what you see on this piggy platter.

Conopodium majus is the Latin name for the umbelliferous plant whose rather undistinguished, lacy blooms in undisturbed grassland betray the presence of the small underground tubers resembling a fresh hazel nut in taste and texture. You can cook them but it's hardly worth it. You're never going to find them in Waitrose.

Pignuts were once a popular outdoor snack for country children and I remember my father using his pocket knife to dig one or two up for me when we were out walking. It's really only when they flower in May and June that you can spot where they are and even then they're a devil to find. The stems go adrift at a touch leaving you to grub around for the little brown tuber which is easily missed in the earth. Pigs love them, hence the name, and badgers too: where I found these the turf had been all scratched and snouted up in their search for them.

The pig plate came from France way back when. It's been in the family all my life.