It’s the perfect time of year for a wild garlic hunt. The broad dark green leaves can be found carpeting shady woodlands with dappled sunlight, often close to streams. Wild garlic is one of the easier wild foods to forage as it’s distinctive smell and white star flowers make it easy to identify. The three-cornered leek is similar and often confused with wild garlic but it has more of an onion flavour, its leaves are skinny and straight and can be cooked and eaten in a similar way but the leaves are much more coarse.
Wild garlic is perfect for mixing with butter and basting a chicken or added to mayonnaise it elevates the humble roast chicken and mayonnaise sandwich to a whole new level. It’s a gorgeous addition to potato and leek soup or the leaves can be used for wrapping fish before cooking (an idea thanks to Noelle at Glenwood Guesthouse). I love to use it like spinach leaves and layer in a lasagna.You can of course can make a pesto with the leaves, your nut of choice, parmesan and olive oil. I like to freeze the pesto in ice cube trays to make user friendly little green blocks of flavour. They can be popped into pasta sauce, Bolognese or soup all year round to add a burst of spring greenery.
Gnocchi are really great fun to make at home. Making gnocchi is sociable so get everyone involved in the rolling and cutting. Add any flavour you’d like and experiment. Add a little more flour if you feel your dough is too sticky but it will pick up more as you gently roll it on the floured surface so don’t make it too dry. You can boil the gnocchi then drain and keep in the fridge till ready to reheat in the pan with butter just before dinner.
Wild Garlic Gnocchi
Serves 6
800g large potatoes, washed
200g plain flour
100g wild garlic leaves (1 large bunch)
1 egg yolk
Salt & freshly ground black pepper
Preheat the oven to 180C. Bake the potatoes for about an hour until cooked through. Cut in half and scoop out the fluffy potato inside. Mash till smooth or pass through a potato ricer. I usually put it into the mixer with the K attachment. It’s perfect for making a dough like this. Leave to cool a little.
Meanwhile wash the wild garlic leaves and chop finely. Place a tbsp of butter in a pan and add the wild garlic. Sauté till it’s wilted. Add the wild garlic to the potato. Season well with plenty of salt and pepper. Add the egg yolk and combine everything well till a dough forms. Tip the dough onto a floured work surface. Roll it lightly in the flour and divide into eight equal pieces. Gently roll each piece into a long sausage shape, about 13”. Cut each length into 2” bites.
Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil. Cook the gnocchi in batches. Add enough to cover the base of the pan and simmer for 2-3 minutes. They will rise to the surface once cooked. Remove from the pot with a slotted spoon. Drain well on kitchen paper while you cook the remaining gnocchi.
When ready to serve heat a tbsp of butter in a large frying pan and cook the gnocchi in batches over a high heat till golden and crispy on the outside. This can also be done in a hot oven, 200C. Just place a few tbsp of butter on a large tray and place all of the gnocchi on at once, roast and turn half way through. Serve while still piping hot with plenty of fresh black pepper, shavings of parmesan and any remaining butter from the pan.
