Wild garlic might smell and taste like bulb garlic, but it’s a different beast

There’s been a spurt of angelica this week, mint and some parsley. It never ceases to amaze me that the plants appear every year with absolutely no attention from me whatsoever. Wild garlic is probably at its best at the moment. The pungent, verdant leaves grow in dark, damp places. My favourite spot is Downhill Forest outside Castlerock. It’s a beautiful place to walk even on a wet day but add the garlic and you have something magical. To find where it grows, follow your nose. It tends to grow near bluebells who’s leaves are toxic – a quick rub and the pungent garlic smell will confirm for you.

Wild garlic might smell and taste like bulb garlic but it’s a completely different beast. You can whizz the leaves into butter to add to grilled meats, roast vegetables, potatoes or to enrich a sauce. This is a good way of preserving the leaves – make up a batch and freeze the excess. Wild garlic pesto is a great way to use the leaves and you can use it to dress salads, rub on toast and sprinkle with cheese for a snack, serve it on grilled meats, stir into pasta dishes … the possibilities are endless. In the recipe here I’ve made wild garlic flatbreads that are filled with chicken and tomatoes tossed in a wild garlic pesto – a double whammy. The flatbreads are made by whizzing wild garlic into yoghurt and then made into a dough with self raising flour. Cook on a dry pan for a quick, simple but delicious bread. The pesto has walnuts rather than the usual pinenuts – I find the give you a richer finish and walnuts are a lot cheaper than pinenuts. We’re having nice weather at the moment and this would make a lovely picnic dish. Grab the wild garlic and the sunshine while you can.

Another edible plant that grows wild is the three cornered leek. It looks a little like wild garlic, but thinner and is more oniony than garlic. Again it grows around water. The height of frustration for me is there’s a stream near to me, with quite a drop, a prolific growth of three cornered leeks. I’ve been tempted to lower myself down the slope such is the temptation. Then I see a vision of myself being winched up and drenched and decide to drive to a river nearby where they can be picked safely. After washing I blanch them in salted boiling water for a minute, drain and fry in a little butter to add as an accompanying vegetable to fish, meat or chicken dishes. Free and so tasty. In the recipe here I’ve used them in a tart with cheese. You could buy a ready made tart case but I like the act of making and rolling pastry – it’s calming, satisfying and a lot tastier than ready made. The recipe requires the pastry to be blind baked and I find chilling it after lining the tart tin avoids shrinkage. The three cornered leeks are added to fried onions and then mixed into a cream, egg and cheese mixture. Bake until golden and bubbling. It would be lovely served with a green salad with some wild garlic pesto used as a dressing. And if the weather continues it would make a super al fresco lunch served with something chilled and white.