A selection of food-related tidbits
WILD GARLIC A recent walk in a wet Wicklow valley produced a gloriously delicate risotto fashioned from the wild garlic picked by the river. The clumps are still heavy with buds and should remain delicate for the next few weeks. We also wilted the leaves to eat alongside a roasted organic chicken which managed to be both robust and sweet. What leaves were left over added punch to a braise of chickpeas, heady with paprika and cumin. Wild garlic may be here now, but it is also a sign of the forthcoming nettles; soup may be traditional but these hostile leaves make the most fantastic sauce for pasta and if you have young children, they adore the danger inherent in picking with rubber gloves. Stick to the tender tops however, the tougher lower leaves get too aggressive. Hugo Arnold
HOLY SMOKE Port Yarrock Smokery is unique in that owner Mo Crawley smokes only vegetarian products. Tomatoes, mushrooms, olives, peppers, garlic and nuts all get the wood-smoke treatment. The wild mushroom mix, and the semi-sundried tomatoes, preserved in olive oil, are particularly delicious. Crawley's basil pesto is cheese and nut-free, relying instead on smoked sunflower seeds for crunch. The smokery's products are on sale from Crawley's stall on the waterfront in Dingle, near Murphy's Bar, and will be available at the Women's World Show (June 4th-6th) and Dublin Horse Show (August 4th-8th) in the RDS. Port Yarrock Smokery, Castlegregory, Co Kerry (066-7138942). Marie-Claire Digby