HOME REMEDY: Wild garlic
Although I have been absent for two weeks, sadly I have not been anywhere glamorous, but have been working on my book, Seasonal Home Remedies. Not a holiday, but all very exciting stuff, perfecting recipes and seeking out new ideas. But in my haste to meet my deadline I’ve realised I’ve missed out one of the first wild edibles to appear: wild garlic.
What an oversight, as this plant is most welcome after months of cold, bare ground. Normally you’d pick it in March, but this year I first saw it on Exmoor in mid-April. It’s the leaves you want for their taste of mild garlic – it’s no surprise that it is related to chives. You can eat the leaves raw, torn up in a salad, sautéed in butter or I pop them in boiling water for one minute and eat them like spinach.
Find them in deciduous woods or on road banks under deciduous hedges and trees. Make sure you know what you’re picking: crush the leaves to check for the garlic smell. Soon their little white flowers will be out and then the leaves are not so flavoursome, but you can still use them if you haven’t got to them before.
Sof McVeigh: www.thehomemadecompany.com
What an oversight, as this plant is most welcome after months of cold, bare ground. Normally you’d pick it in March, but this year I first saw it on Exmoor in mid-April. It’s the leaves you want for their taste of mild garlic – it’s no surprise that it is related to chives. You can eat the leaves raw, torn up in a salad, sautéed in butter or I pop them in boiling water for one minute and eat them like spinach.
Find them in deciduous woods or on road banks under deciduous hedges and trees. Make sure you know what you’re picking: crush the leaves to check for the garlic smell. Soon their little white flowers will be out and then the leaves are not so flavoursome, but you can still use them if you haven’t got to them before.
Sof McVeigh: www.thehomemadecompany.com