Wild Garlic

You shouldn’t need an excuse but It’s alway nice to have a walk with a purpose. Wild garlic, like most things that grow naturally are very good for you in lots of ways. With some studies showing it to reduce blood pressure. It tastes delicious and definitely can’t do any harm to get some into your diet.

Wild garlic tends to pop up at different times depending on where you are in the UK. It’s usually abundant from late Feb to May. In my opinion the best leaves are collected earlier in the season when it is still young and sweet. After the winter we’ve had, it’s a nice reminder that spring is doing its thing and brighter times lie ahead.

Wild garlic likes to grow in damp, dark, shady wooded areas, something we in the UK don’t have a shortage of right now!
It really is super easy to identify with its white flowers later in the season and bright green leaves, with the biggest giveaway of all being the unmistakable smell of fresh young garlic. All that said, if you are not sure just don’t eat it. There are lots of useful books on this subject, I like The Forager’s Calendar.

Quick tip, try and find a spot off the beaten path. It will be less likely to be covered in dog piss, failing that give it a really good wash, I would anyway just in case.

You can of course make all sorts of delicious things using wild garlic. Great as a pesto in pasta or risottos. It will freeze well blended in oil, it even gives great flavour to a focaccia. You will no doubt be seeing it on lots of menus at the moment. One of our favorite ways to eat it is chopped up in the roasting juices of a chicken or maybe I just really like roast chicken!

Roast Chicken and wild garlic

1.6kg whole chicken
1 glass Kombucha
250ml chicken stock
80g butter
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
Garlic
Thyme
Wild garlic
Lemon or fancy vinegar

• Rub the chicken with olive oil and season with plenty of salt and pepper inside and out.

• Fill the cavity with a good bunch of fresh thyme and some smashed garlic in the skin. Then leave the chicken out at room temperature 1 hour before roasting.

• If you have a shallow oven-proof chicken sized dish that can also be used on a stove top it will make life much easier indeed. And save you some washing up.

• Pop your chicken in a heavy-bottomed pan and cook over a low heat on the stove top for about 15 minutes, until the bottom is golden brown. This gives the legs a head start, helping them cook more evenly with the breast.

• Preheat the oven to 190°C. Cook the chicken in the oven for 40 minutes. Remove the herbs and garlic from inside the cavity, and leave them in the pan around the bird. Add the butter and continue cooking at the same temperature for a further 10 mins, basting halfway through.

• Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside to rest. It goes without saying but everyone’s oven is different so you may need a bit more time if you have a slower oven or a bigger bird, but essentially you are looking for a lovely golden-brown skin with juices running clear.

• By this stage you should have a really nice bit of flavour developed in the bottom of the pan from all the roasting juices.

• Pop the pan back onto a medium heat and deglaze with a good glass of kombucha, white wine or cider will also do a good job! Then add 250ml of nice chicken stock and reduce by half, then remove from the heat. Now it’s time to add a couple of really big handfuls of chopped wild garlic into the sauce to wilt. You really can use loads, as it wilts down it mellows out really nicely… don’t be shy! Give the sauce a little squeeze of fresh lemon or my favorite a splash of fancy vinegar to bring some fresh acidity to the party.

• Chop the chicken up and submerge it into the juices. Serve with your favorite potato dish. We like roasties or maybe even some chips on the weekend!

Big love and happy cooking!