Recipe for Wild Garlic

Wild garlic recipes

In Scotland, wild garlic has many peculiar identities - 'bear's garlic', 'devil's garlic', 'gypsy's onions' and 'stinking Jenny' are just some of them. It's no surprise that this seasonal ingredient is called so many names - it gives off an incredibly pungent smell in the wild. Unlike common cultivated garlic, it's the leaves that are eaten rather than the bulbs. The taste is more delicate too, similar to the flavour of chives.

Wild garlic is found  in your deciduous woodland

(among the bluebells)

rather than the supermarket. It's best harvested

in April or May

before the flowers appear.

The shape of the leaves are similar

to some other inedible plants,

so ensure identification by crushing

some of the leaves in your hand.

The tell-tale odour should ensure

you pick the right leaves.

The leaves can be eaten raw or lightly cooked

 Be sure to wash them well -

some recipes also call for blanching

the leaves for a few minutes in boiling water.

Wild garlic can be stirred into risottos or omelettes,

added to soups or used in sauces

to accompany meat and fish.