The first shoots of wild garlic were lovely to behold when I walked past my 'secret' patch. Those few warm sunny days have brought enough growth for me to start picking. Once the plants have flowered, the leaves are much coarser, but have even more flavour.
And the flowers make an exquisite garnish, on chilled soups, for example. Collect your wild garlic in a basket or cotton bag and wash thoroughly with hot water. (Image: Pixabay) The leaves are best collected in a cotton, rather than a plastic, bag, and as I gather them, I think of all the dishes they will enhance.
Before I use the leaves, I rinse them very thoroughly in copious amounts of hot water. Blanching the leaves, I have found, takes away too much of the scent and flavour, but certainly sterilises the leaves more than hot water can. The leaves are best dried spread out on a clean tea towel.
If you are using them right away, in an omelette, sauce, soup or a soufflé, they do no need to be perfectly dry. But if you plan to make wild garlic butter or pesto to freeze, then it is best to have the leaves as dry as possible. The butter and pesto freeze well in ice cube trays.
Pesto can enhance eggs, soups, and salads including asparagus. (Image: Pixabay) A cube dropped into minestrone or fresh tomato soup takes the flavours to the next level. Or stir one into a pan of mashed potatoes.
Eggs, fish, potatoes and pasta provide the perfect background to the flavour of wild garlic, as they do for chives and other allium family .