Wild garlic recipes

Wild garlic is abundant in spring – you often find it in wooded areas and it’s easily identifiable by its smell. As always, before you set out foraging, make sure you’re 100% sure you can identify what you’re picking. Take a look at our guide for more foraging tips.

If you can’t track any wild garlic down then you can usually buy it from farmers markets or online at Ocado. Here are three simple recipes we’ve created to go with our crispbread and flatbreads for a garlicky hit this spring.

Wild garlic and anchovy whipped butter

This wild garlic butter has a savoury saltiness from the anchovies. Whipping it creates a lovely light and creamy texture. Slather it on our crispbread or freshly baked sourdough, or why not try tossing it through seasonal greens? The butter will keep for a couple of weeks in the fridge and can also be frozen for a taste of spring throughout the year, although the texture may change slightly.

Ingredients

• 100g salted butter, at room temperature
• 3 anchovies
• About 5 or 6 leaves of wild garlic, finely chopped

Method

1. Whip the butter until it’s nicely aerated (about 5 mins). It’s best to use a free-standing mixer with the whisk attachment or an electric whisk for this. You could also use a food processor.
2. Use a pestle and mortar to crush the anchovies and add half to the butter, along with half of the chopped wild garlic. Beat until combined. Taste and add more anchovy or wild garlic to taste.

Sour cream and wild garlic dip

This dip is so simple and makes a great a seasonal alternative to the classic sour cream and chive.

Ingredients

• 5-6 wild garlic leaves, roughly chopped
• 150ml sour cream
• ½ tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• Sea salt
• Pepper

Method

1. Put the chopped wild garlic leaves, a generous pinch of salt and olive oil in a pestle and mortar and pound to a rough paste.
2. Then, put the sour cream in a bowl and stir the paste through this mix. Taste and adjust the seasoning as necessary and enjoy with our Sea Salt or Seeded Sourdough Flatbreads.

Cannellini bean and wild garlic pesto dip

This cannellini bean dip is a silky smooth base which works well with a great variety of flavours. Stirring a wild garlic pesto through it adds a streak of colour along with a mellow garlicky flavour.

For the base dip:

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp chicken or vegetable stock
• 1 tin cannellini beans
• Lemon juice
• 1 small onion, finely diced
• Sea salt
• Pepper

For the pesto:

• Around 30g wild garlic leaves
• 10g parmesan cheese, grated
• 20g toasted pine nuts
• Olive oil
• Lemon juice
• Sea salt
• Pepper

Method:

1. Start off with the base dip. Heat the olive oil in a frying pan on a medium heat. Then, add the onion and sweat gently until soft.
2. Drain the cannellini beans and also add these to the pan, along with a couple of tablespoons of stock.
3. Put the onion and bean mixture in a food processor and blend until smooth. Season to taste with the salt, pepper and a squeeze of lemon juice. Place the dip in a bowl and set aside.
4. Now move on to your pesto. Wash and roughly chop the wild garlic. Use a pestle and mortar or your clean food processor, to mix the wild garlic, parmesan, pine nuts and a glug of olive oil to a paste. Add more olive oil until you reach a consistency you are happy with. Then season with lemon juice, sea salt and pepper.
5. Finally, take a couple of spoons of the pesto and swirl it through your base dip. Enjoy it with our Flatbreads.

Any remaining pesto will keep for a couple of weeks under olive oil in a jar in the fridge.