It's Back! Wild Garlic is growing profusely in the West Country hills

It’s back! One of the most flavoursome wild harvests around is popping its green leaves up all over the South West of England as we speak and home cooks who love to forage will soon be making soups, sauces, risottos and a form of pesto out of those gorgeous, super-tasty ramsons. That’s just to give it one of wild garlic’s many names.

A few years ago I was at a cookery class given by the brilliant chef Mark Hix in his West Dorset home, and I couldn’t help but turn a little green as he picked up a fistful of wild garlic to make a very English form of pesto.

The greenness had nothing to do with the pungent aromas wafting off the herb, it was simply envy on my part. Mark said pickers had gleaned his supply from the soft warm underbelly of southern Cornwall - at the time my local ramsons on Exmoor weren’t peeping even a tiny spear above the ground.

Exmoor is normally two or three weeks behind the sheltered valleys of Cornwall in terms of nature’s cycle - but maybe not this year when the wild garlic seems to have come early. And when the temperatures do warm up the deep vales of the Brendon Hills are capable of producing vast carpets of the green and aromatic leaves.

I’ve used two of the plant’s common names so far - it’s also known as buckrams, broad-leaved garlic, wood garlic, bear leek or bear's garlic.

I’ve also hinted at its usefulness in the kitchen, but it does come with a health warning: every year in this country there are cases where people have been poisoned after picking and eating the similar looking leaves belonging to Lilly of the Valley.

Well… similar when young. As they mature over a few days you should easily be able to see the difference. The wild garlic leaves are slightly convex and smooth edged with a single main vein, whereas the Lilly of the Valley has irregular edges and numerous deep veins.

In my garden the two grow side by side, so it’s easy to see how they differ. However, I would advise anyone who has even the slightest scintilla of doubt not to go out harvesting ramsons unless escorted by an expert. The garlicky pong should be enough to give you a green light - but get it wrong and you could become very green indeed before turning a shade of blue.

Wild garlic growing in the West Country hills

WILD GARLIC PESTO

The very best way of utilising this free and delicious vegetable is to make an English form of pesto. Which prompts me to ask how it was that a herb-rich nation like ours could have failed to come up with a kind of sauce made from the act of grinding aromatic leaves in some kind of emulsifying agent? We have mint sauce, yes, but we don’t really have other intensely flavoured delights made from our delicious edible plants. 

Pesto is now apparently the third most commonly used sauce in the world after ketchup and mayonnaise - not that the industrially made stuff even begins to compare with homemade. And you can make a British version of a pesto by using wild garlic, cold pressed rapeseed oil, a very mature cheese such as cheddar and some hazel nuts. 

It does come with a health warning: every year in this country there are cases where people have been poisoned after picking and eating the similar looking leaves - so only harvest wild garlic if you know what you’re doing. 

A spoonful of wild garlic pesto thrown into fresh cooked pasta creates an instant and delicious lunch - you can also use it as a side sauce for meats or fish or as a marinade. Stir a little into a spring vegetable risotto and you will have a vegetarian dish worthy of an award winning restaurant. But if you can’t be bothered to make pesto, here’s a basic risotto recipe for this most wondrous of wild herbs…

WILD GARLIC RISOTTO

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

300g Arborio rice

1litre vegetable or chicken stock

120ml dry white wine (optional)

2 tbsp olive oil

1 medium onion, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

100g wild garlic leaves, roughly chopped

100g freshly grated parmesan or very old cheddar cheese

2 tbsp unsalted butter

Salt and pepper, to taste

Lemon zest, for garnish (optional)

Instructions:

1. In a medium-sized saucepan, warm the vegetable or chicken stock over low heat. Keep it at a gentle simmer throughout the cooking process.

2. In a heavy-bottomed pan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the chopped onion and cook for 4-5 minutes, or until softened and translucent.

3. Add the minced garlic and cook for another 1-2 minutes, stirring frequently.

4. Stir in the Arborio rice, coating each grain with oil. Cook for 2-3 minutes, or until the rice grains become slightly translucent around the edges.

5. If using, pour in the dry white wine and cook for a couple of minutes, stirring constantly until the liquid is absorbed.

6. Begin adding the warmed stock to the rice, one ladleful at a time, stirring constantly and allowing the liquid to be absorbed before adding more. This process should take about 20-25 minutes, or until the rice is cooked al dente and has a creamy consistency.

7. Stir in the roughly chopped wild garlic leaves and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes, or until the leaves are wilted and tender.

8. Remove the risotto from the heat and stir in the grated cheese and unsalted butter. Mix well to combine, then season with salt and pepper to taste.

9. Let the risotto rest for a couple of minutes to allow the flavours to meld. Serve hot, garnished with lemon zest if desired.