Now is the season for wild garlic, and for those of you that are out and about on your daily exercise in the countryside, you will almost certainly smell its distinct aroma in the air. Follow your nose (literally) and look for its pointed oval leaves that closely resemble Lily of the Valley, but when picked and crushed in your hand, it gives off an unmistakably strong garlicky aroma.
Not only is it delicious, but wild garlic is widely known for its antibacterial, antibiotic and possible antiviral properties, and contains vitamins A and C, calcium, iron, phosphorus, sodium and copper – perfect for this current time. Also, almost all parts of the plant are usable, including the leaves, stems and flowers.
Here, we’ve composed a list of our favourite wild garlic recipes for you to try at home:
Ingredients
100g wild garlic
50g Parmesan grated
50g hazelnuts, skinned and toasted
olive oil
lemon juice, to taste
salt and pepper
Method
1. Thoroughly wash your wild garlic and place in a food processor, blitz until fairly well broken up.
2. Next, add your Parmesan and process further, this will help to break down the garlic leaves.
3. Finally add your hazelnuts. When the nuts are added you will want to have your olive oil to hand; turn the machine back on, and add olive oil to your desired consistency.
4. Add salt, pepper and lemon juice to taste.
5. You can always make this more traditionally and slowly in a pestle and mortar too.
Ingredients
500 g Jersey Royals
1 handful of wild garlic leaves
olive oil
a few sprigs of fresh rosemary
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/gas 6.
2. In a large pan of salted water, parboil the Jersey royals. Drain them in a colander and place over the hot pan to steam dry.
3. Bash the wild garlic leaves with a little sea salt in a pestle and mortar. Add a generous lug of oil and mix into a paste, then rub over the potatoes.
4. Place on a tray, pick and scatter over the leaves of the rosemary sprigs.
5. Roast for 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden. Serve with grilled meat or fish.
Ingredients
1 handful of wild garlic buds
50g of sugar
50g of cider vinegar
50g of water
1 pinch of pink peppercorns
1 pinch of salt
Method
1. Begin by making the pickling liquor. Place the sugar in a pan with the vinegar and water and bring to the boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Add the pink peppercorns and season with a pinch of salt. Leave to cool.
2. Once cooled, place the wild garlic buds in a sterilised jar and pour the pickling liquor over the top. Seal the jar and leave to pickle in the fridge for at least a few days. Eat within six months
Ingredients
100ml of vegetable oil
2 banana shallots, roughly chopped
3 garlic cloves
6 wild garlic leaves
500g of frozen peas
100ml of cider vinegar, (or champagne vinegar if you can find it)
salt, to taste
Method
1. To begin, add a dash of oil to a pan and slowly sweat down the shallots and garlic until translucent. Allow to cool
2. Blanch the peas for 1 minute in salted boiling water, then plunge into iced water until cool. Drain
3. Blanch the wild garlic leaves in salted boiling water, then plunge into ice water. Remove the leaves and squeeze out any excess water
4. Add the shallots, garlic, peas, wild garlic and vinegar to a high-powered blender and blitz until smooth. Slowly drizzle in the vegetable oil until you have your desired consistency (you may not need to use it all). Taste and season with salt.
Ingredients:
Spinach soup
50g of butter 250g of shallots, finely sliced 200g of potato, finely sliced 1.75kg spinach leaves 50g of wild garlic leaves 1.75l vegetable stock Salt and pepper
Wild garlic cheese toasts
200g of cream cheese 15g of wild garlic leaves, raw and finely chopped 1 egg yolk 8 brown bread rolls Olive oil
Method
1. For the Spinach soup, melt the butter in a heavy-based pan. Add the shallots and potatoes. Sweat with no colour until the vegetables start to soften. In another pan, bring the vegetable stock to the boil and remove from the heat.
2. Add the picked, pre-washed spinach and wild garlic leaves. Sweat for a further minute only and remove from the heat.
3. Add the boiling stock and blend until smooth immediately to retain the fresh, green colour.
4. Pass through a fine sieve into a bowl over ice. This is done to cool the soup quickly to stop browning. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
5. For the wild garlic cheese toasts, divide the egg yolk in half, discarding one half. Mix all the ingredients together except the bread rolls and olive oil, seasoning with the salt and pepper to taste.
6. Slice the top and bottom off the rolls and then cut in half.
7. Spread 2-3mm of the cheese mixture on one side of one half of the roll, evenly. Place the other half on top, making sandwich. Repeat with the rest of the rolls. Place in the fridge for 10-15 minutes to set.
8. Heat a generous amount of olive oil in a frying pan and fry the rolls on both sides until golden brown.
9. Serve the spinach soup with the wild garlic cheese toasts on the side.
Ingredients
A bunch of radishes
1 lemon
Sea salt
1 tbsp wholegrain mustard
Freshly ground pepper
3 tbsp olive oil
1 garlic clove
50g breadcrumbs
4 shallots
200g asparagus
A handful of wild garlic
Methods
1. Slice the leaves off the radishes, pop the leaves in a colander and gently rinse under cold water. Set aside. Rinse the radishes. Thinly slice the radishes and slide them into a small bowl. Squeeze over the juice from half the lemon, add a pinch of salt and toss together. Set the radishes to one side to lightly pickle.
2. Peel and finely chop or grate the garlic. Slide it into a large bowl. Spoon in 1 tbsp of the mustard and squeeze in the juice from the remaining lemon half. Stir with a pinch of salt and pepper and 1 tbsp oil till a dressing is formed. Set aside.
3. Pour 1 tbsp oil into a large pan and warm over a medium-high heat. Tip in the breadcrumbs with a little salt and pepper. Fry for 3-4 mins, stirring frequently, till the breadcrumbs are golden brown. Tip into a bowl and give the pan a quick wipe clean.
4. Peel the shallots and slice them. Snap the woody ends off the asparagus (they'll break at the right point when you bend them).
5. Return the clean frying pan to a medium-high heat and warm for 2 mins. Pour in 1 tbsp oil and add the asparagus and shallots. Fry for 5-6 mins, stirring often, till the asparagus is tender and the shallots are golden.
6. Tip the cooked asparagus and shallots into the bowl with the salad dressing. Add the radish leaves, wild garlic leaves and the pickled radishes . Toss to combine. Divide the salad between two warm plates and sprinkle with the golden breadcrumbs.
Comments