FORAGED, FRESH AND FABULOUS

By Amber

Darbishire (née Tilleard), 1994-2003

I absolutely love this time of year, the blossom blooms, the bumblebees reappear and everywhere you look, you see hundreds of shades of green as summer seems to be around the corner. One particular wonder of this time of year is wild garlic. It can be found in abundance in hedgerows and woodlands, with the tender leaves appearing from March and the flowers emerging from April, through to June. If you are unfamiliar with this little treasure, go and have a forage for it, your nose may find it before your eyes – it has quite a punch! Also, with the past year being filled with a somewhat lingering virus, wild garlic is known for its antibacterial, antibiotic and possibly antiviral properties, so go and grab a good dose of it!

The young wild garlic leaves are delicious when thrown into salads and risottos and the flowers make for a pretty garnish. The leaves can be used in endless recipes, such as soups, dips, tarts, breads or simply stirred through lovely fresh vegetables. They pair beautifully with eggs too, so why not give your omelette a little face lift! If you’d like to savour this glorious leafy green, then simply wash and dry the leaves and freeze them for another day.

Here is a recipe for wild garlic pesto. It will keep in the fridge for a week, or it freezes incredibly well – how about freezing little ice cubes of it to throw into a quick pasta or a dressing.

WILD GARLIC PESTO Ingredients:

200g wild garlic leaves (washed and dried) 150g walnuts (lightly toasted and cooled) 80g parmesan (finely grated) 2 lemons, zest and juice 2 pinches of sea salt A few cracks of black pepper 200ml light olive oil

Method:

Blend all of the ingredients in a food processor, gradually adding the olive oil until you have an even consistency. Be careful not to over blend. Enjoy! H

Wild garlic in full bloom. Serving suggestion: Asparagus and poached egg starter.