Wild Garlic Tips

Wild garlic oil - tip #1

We thought we would share one of our simplest tips; a wild garlic infused oil that can be used to add an intense garlic note to a whole host of dishes.
To make this at home all you’ll need is some wild garlic and some olive oil. First job is to blanch your wild garlic in lightly salted water for a couple of minutes. Drain and then cool in iced water. Next, squeeze as much water out of your blanched wild garlic as you can, then weigh it. Measure out an equal amount of olive oil and blend the oil and leaves together until the leaves are completely blitzed. Strain the oil out using a sieve with a muslin (swipe right for a shot of ours). And that’s it. Bottle it and store in the fridge. Your wild garlic oil can be used straight away and will store for a few weeks.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

Wild Garlic Pesto - tip #2

Wild garlic pesto is another field kitchen staple that we make throughout the season, to give us the flexibility to add a fresh garlic note to a whole host of dishes. Like this shot taken from lunch earlier this week; garden peas served on crushed peas & curd and then dressed with wild garlic pesto. Guests loved piling up hunks of our freshly baked sourdough with the vibrant green mixture. There was also the option of a seaweed butter and a pumpkin butter for added flavour variety.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Wild garlic pesto is also great thrown through pasta, swirled through soups and stews or served as a condiment to baked potatoes or a perfectly roast chicken. Try using it as a salad dressing or popping a few dabs into your favourite sandwich. Will keep for at least a week in the fridge. In the following recipe, feel free to replace the hazelnuts with any nut of your choosing, likewise any salty hard cheese can work too. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Ingredients⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
100g wild garlic⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
50g Parmesan grated⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
50g hazelnuts, skinned & toasted⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Olive oil⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Lemon juice, to taste⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Salt & pepper⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Thoroughly wash your wild garlic and place in a food processor, blitz until fairly well broken up.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Next add your Parmesan and process further, this will help to break down the garlic leaves.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Add salt, pepper and lemon juice to taste.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
You can always make this more traditionally and slowly in a pestle and mortar too.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

Use wild garlic like spinach - tip #3

We wanted to show you just how versatile wild garlic is. As well as using it to dress dishes, through wild garlic oils and pesto (see two earlier posts), it can also be used stirred through stews, risottos and whole host of other dishes. Its light, green garlicky note means that it enhances rather than overpowers the other elements of a dish.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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In the field kitchen today, guests enjoyed wild garlic stirred through a plate of roasted squash, padron peppers and curd. To use it this way at home, simply add your wild garlic in the final few minutes of cooking, allowing it to wilt through your dish, releasing those aromatic notes.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

Wild garlic salt - tip #4

Wild garlic salt is a great way to capture the fresh garlicky flavour of this early spring delicacy, and once made, it can be stored for several months. In the field kitchen we use this salt as a finishing garnish on a whole host of dishes; from dips and freshly baked breads, to our platters of roasted seasonal veg.
To make this at home, you’ll need 800g of sea salt and 100g of chopped wild garlic. First of all you need to make a salty paste. To do this add 100g of sea salt and 100g of chopped garlic to a blender and briefly blend to form a thick mixture. Next, mix this paste through 700g of sea salt until all of the salt has turned a vibrant green. Spread the mixture out on a baking tray and leave somewhere to dry overnight.
And that’s it – simple. Put it in a jar and store in a cool, dry place, ready to be enjoyed.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

Wild garlic orzo, egg yolk & chervil - tip #5

Have you made your wild garlic pesto yet (see tip number 2)? Well if you have, or need some more inspiration of how you can use it, then try this dish - a quick and easy mid-week supper. Head chef Lewis Glanville recently made it for our staff lunch. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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To make this at home, cook your orzo pasta by following the instructions on the pack. Drain and stir through your garlic pesto. Separate an egg & a yolk and then lightly poach the yolk (you can save the white to make a meringue). We like to keep the yolk runny to stir through the pasta. Pop your yolk on top of the wild garlic orzo, and dress with chopped chervil. Enjoy.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

Wild garlic butter - tip #6

Another easy tip for all of you wild garlic fanatics. This one is a great way to add a gentle garlic note to whatever you're making. Whether it's spread on spongy freshly baked sourdough, stirred through a risotto or melted into a boiled egg - its uses are endless.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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And what's even better, its method of making is easy too. Blanch 100g of wild garlic, drain and squeeze all of the water out. Next, blend the wild garlic with 400g butter and season with salt; then leave in the fridge to set. As simple as that. And if kept chilled, it should keep for at least two weeks.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

Lacto fermented wild garlic - tip #7

We realise this might be getting a little 'chefy' for you, but don't be scared off by the idea of this, as it's really simple to do and can add a tangy, sour note to a whole host of dishes. It's a complex flavour that can lift the most mundane of plates into something far more exciting. Head chef Lewis Glanville stirs it through polenta and peas, piles it on freshly baked focaccia as a starter for our guests, or uses it in the same way as spinach in all sorts of roasted veg dishes.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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To make this at home, weigh out 2% salt to the weight of your wild garlic. Put the garlic and the salt in a mixing bowl and rub and squeeze into the leaves until the juices start to run out. Should take about five minutes. Pack into a jar, ensuring that the juices are covering all of the wild garlic. Store in a cool dry place. Your fermented wild garlic should be ready in about five days. Let us know how you get on with this. We would love to hear your ideas of how you've used it at home.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

Wild garlic ketchup - tip #8

In our final tip of the wild garlic series, we've turned a classic condiment green. This sweet and delicate pea and wild garlic ketchup recipe is delicious served with lamb but also goes hand in hand with asparagus which is how Lewis Glanville has served it up in the restaurant this week.

To make this at home, you will need;
2 shallots
4 garlic cloves
2 handfuls of wild garlic
300g peas
100ml cider vinegar
100ml olive oil

Add a splash of oil to a pan and slowly sweat down the shallots and garlic and let them cool down. Blanch the peas for 1 minute in salted boiling water, then plunge into iced water until cool and drain. Blanch the wild garlic leaves in salted boiling water, then plunge these into ice water aswell. Remove the leaves, squeezeing out any excess water. Add the shallots, garlic, peas, wild garlic and vinegar to a high-powered blender and blitz until smooth. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil until you have your desired consistency (you may not need to use it all). Taste and season with salt

Let us know how you get on with this. We would love to hear your ideas of how you've used it at home.

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