WILD GARLIC PESTO BREAD

So far we have had Scones, Butter and Pesto all made with gorgeous foraged Wild Garlic but I promise this is the last of the wild garlic recipes.  The trouble was that I had all this lush pesto that I could not resist using some of it for bread.  I just love making bread and even though it takes a couple of hours, you're only really working for about 20 minutes, the rest of the time it does all the work itself.

I always make double the quantity because I think if you're going to go to the effort of making it, why not make lots.  I would say freeze it if it's too much but it never is and gets eaten pretty much before it's completely cooled.

When I made this batch, I doubled it and made a loaf and some rolls which I then split and spread with Wild Garlic Butter and topped with Pecorino before grilling for garlic bread.

500g Strong White Bread Flour

15g Yeast

320g Warm Water

2 tbsp Wild Garlic Pesto

Mix the flour, yeast and salt. Combine the water with the pesto and mix into the flour with a knife  to form a dough.  Knead it on a lightly oiled surface for 10 minutes till smooth. Now return the dough to the bowl and cover with a shower cap or cling film.  Rest for 1 hour till doubled in size.

Remove the dough from the bowl and 'knock back' to original size.  Form into your loaf shape or divide it into 12 pieces, they should weigh about 80g each.  Shape each one and leave to rest on a baking sheet or stone and cover with a tea towel.  Rest for a further hour to double again. Before baking, slash the tops with a sharp knife. Bake for 20-25 minutes at 200C

WILD GARLIC PESTO

And so it continues, more Wild Garlic recipes. This,  like the Wild Garlic Butter, is a recipe which gives a longer life to your reward from woodland foraging and I have even been known to spread a little onto The Wild Garlic Scones from last weeks blog.

Just like regular basil pesto, everything goes in a processor and gets blitzed to within an inch of it's life.  The recipe is pretty much the same but you omit the garlic and replace the basil with wild garlic leaves.

60g Pine Nuts

100g Wild Garlic Leaves

60g Pecorino / Parmesan grated

250ml Olive Oil

Black Pepper

Start by toasting the pine nuts, pop them into a dry pan and heat till they start to brown.  Toasting them helps to bring out the flavour more.  Now add them to the processor along with the garlic leaves and pecorino.  Whizz everything together then while it's still running, slowly pour in the oil till you get the consistency you are happy with, you may use less of the oil than I have recommended, I like quite a loose blend.  Season with black pepper but not salt, the cheese is already quite salty. Store in a jam jar in the fridge or even freeze if you like.

SMOKEY WILD GARLIC BUTTER - Lamb Leg Steaks & Wild Garlic Mash

So far I've made scones with the wild garlic leaves which I gathered from some woodland foraging but to ensure I get the most form my delicious tender bounty, I've made wild garlic butter which I know I shall be adding to everything I possibly can in the coming weeks.  

Flavoured butters are a fantastic way of using up left over herbs that are a bit past their best.  You can keep them in the freezer and just chop a bit off as required.  I've also added some smoked salt flakes to this for an extra smack of flavour.

This could not be simpler, chop a 250g block of unsalted butter, use salted if you are not adding the smoked salt. Drop the butter into a food processor and add 50g of Wild Garlic Leaves and a generous teaspoon of Smoked Salt Flakes.

Whizz everything together till the leaves are finely chopped and you have a soft vivid spread.  Divide it into two and form each into a log and wrap in parchment.

You are now ready to boost your cooking with a hit of wild garlic.  Now I realise that not everything on your plate has to be cooked in this enhanced butter but for the purposes of this blog, that's just what I've done and to be honest, there were no complaints.

I heated a thick slice of wild garlic butter in a large frying pan with 1 tbsp of oil to stop the butter burning.  Once the butter started to sizzle I added seasoned lamb leg steaks and cooked them for about 4 minutes on each side. Serve with a drizzle of the wild garlic butter.

We had the lamb with a feta & Onion salad and creamy mashed potato with yes, you guessed it, wild garlic butter and a handful of wild garlic leaves stirred through it.  What's not to like!

WILD GARLIC SCONES

At this time of year you can't walk through woodland without coming across a heady carpet of wild garlic covering the shaded floor. I always think it a sign that spring is really upon us and I start to imaging the possibility of some sunshine round the corner, a little naively perhaps.

The pungent odour of wild garlic or Ramsons as it's also known hits you way before you spot the floppy lush leaves. It also grows along the edge of rivers and has a pretty white allium flower.

Its a relative of the chive and can be used as you would spinach, cooked or raw and the flavour can be quite subtle depending on how you use it.

I found mine in some woodland in North Wales, just be mindful if you go foraging and check you are allowed to pick it from it's location








We've had a week of eating wild garlic and I've started with savoury scones. You can use any hard cheese for this recipe, I thought it would be nice to use Yarg, a semi hard cheese from Cornwall that is traditionally wrapped in garlic or nettle leaves to mature but I couldn't find any so good old cheddar it was. You may have more luck than I.

They are so lovely straight from the oven, split and slathered in butter. I usually double this recipe up and make them quite large yielding about 9 but if you go smaller and make lots, they are great to freeze and warm from frozen.

400g Self Raising Flour
70g Butter
1 tsp Dried Mustard
130g Cheese grated
20g Wild Garlic Leaves chopped
Salt & Pepper
200g Milk

Preheat the oven to 190C fan and line a baking sheet with parchment.

Rub the butter into the flour till there are no lumps, add the mustard and seasoning and stir through the cheese.

Fold in to chopped garlic leaves till it's speckled evenly with green then pour your milk in gradually whilst string to combine. I find using a knife is best for this. Don't worry if you need to add a little more milk if it's a bit dry.

Once everything is in, bring it together with your hands and tip the dough onto a floured surface.  Knead it gently just to bring it together into a smooth ball.

Roll out the dough slightly, I find that to get a good thick scone, slightly under the depth of your cutter is a good guide for the thickness of your dough.  Cut out the scones then re-roll the remaining dough till it has all been used. Brush the tops with milk then bake for 20-25 minutes till cooked through and golden.