Neil Forbes cooks with wild garlic, plus Rose Murray Brown tastes the wines of Friuli
The leaves of ramsons – better known as wild garlic – are delicious. Forage responsibly and delight in the flavour writes Neil Forbes
There is nothing finer than a walk in the woods on a warm spring day with acres of wild garlic underfoot. This wild plant releases a hypnotic aroma as you walk through their vibrant green leaves. They’re a real pleasure for chefs to use as there’s such a strong garlicky taste in those raw leaves.
Wild garlic, or ramsons to give them their correct name, are part of the allium family, like onions. The leaves become quite large in the summer whilst their beautiful white flowers are excellent in salads or dipped in batter then fried in hot oil to make a beignet. And just before blooming, the buds are excellent for pickling or sautéing.
It makes a delicious alternative to shop bought veg, and I adore wild garlic mixed with spinach and wilted with butter, salt, pepper and a little grated nutmeg. At Cafe St Honoré we use so much of this green leaf that we work with Ben the forager who harvests for us from sustainable sources. If you decide to forage your own, always remember to leave some for others, and to leave the bulbs in the ground to give the plant a chance to grow back. And always ensure you wash the leaves before consuming.
@chefneilforbes
Griddled Portobello mushrooms with wild garlic pesto
I adore mushrooms and these giant caps are perfect charred on a barbecue or griddle pan. Make a few jars of pesto at a time, and if you sterilise the jars they will keep fresh for weeks. This pesto is lovely served with a simple pasta, or popped under the skin of a chicken before roasting. Use up old pieces of cheese in this recipe – as long as it’s hard and grated it will work well. If you use hazelnuts give them a gentle toast first, but walnuts work equally well. And switch the olive oil for rapeseed oil if you prefer.
Serves four
8 large Portobello mushrooms, brushed clean and wiped with a damp cloth 250ml organic extra-virgin olive oil 50g hard cheese, like a good Mull cheddar, grated 50g lightly-toasted hazelnuts or walnuts a handful of washed and dried wild garlic a few salad leaves good salt and pepper
1 Place a griddle pan onto the hob and get it quite hot. Season the mushrooms, cut them in half and rub with a little of the olive oil, then place on the griddle until browned with the bar marks of the griddle, or even cook on the barbecue if it’s on. Cook for about 10 minutes, seasoning as you go and give another trickle of oil to the pan if it needs it.
2 Next, make the pesto by adding most of the wild garlic to a blender with the cheese, nuts and remaining oil with a good pinch of salt and pepper. Blitz until the ingredients are all incorporated. The longer you blend, the smoother it will be. I like it quite chunky.
3 To serve, spoon the pesto onto warmed plates and place the mushrooms on the centre of the pesto. Scatter a few salad leaves around the edge of the plate. Wilt the retained garlic leaves on the griddle and drape these over the mushrooms. Serve at once.
Wild garlic gnocchi
I really enjoy making these fluffy, light, little pillows of potato. The best way to make the mash is to bake the potatoes in their skins in the oven on a tray of salt. Cook until soft inside, half them, then run through a mouli or potato ricer. The mash must be dry. Don’t over work the dough or be tempted to add too much flour as they will become bullet hard after blanching. Keep them light and fluffy. I love them sautéed with butter to give a hint of texture on the outside.
Serves four
4 to 5 large, floury potatoes 250g plain flour, plus extra for rolling the dumplings 1 large egg a handful of wild garlic, finely chopped 2 tbsp hard cheese like a Mull or Barwheys, grated a few knobs of butter 50ml extra virgin olive oil ½ bulb of fennel, shaved on a mandolin or thinly sliced with a knife a few salad leaves a few shavings of hard cheese like a good cheddar a drizzle of garlic oil or pesto oil to garnish, optional a few sliced radishes to garnish, optional good salt and pepper
1 Heat the oven to 200C/gas Mark 6. Bake the potatoes in their skins in the oven on a bed of salt until soft inside. This will take about 1 hour and 15 minutes. Allow to cool, then scoop out the flesh and mash.
2 Mix 500g of the mashed potato carefully with the plain flour, then add the egg and combine. Add the wild garlic, season with salt and pepper and add the grated cheese. Mix well but be careful not to overdo it.
3 Roll the dough in a dusting of flour to make a long sausage shape about the width of £1 coin. Cut the gnocchi into 1-inch pieces, pinching each one as you cut.
4 To cook, place into a pan of salted, boiling water and cook until the gnocchi rises to the surface on a rolling boil. This should take about 2 to 4 minutes, then remove from the water and place onto a cloth.
5 Heat a non-stick pan and add half the olive oil and add the gnocchi. Then add the butter and colour the dumplings until they are golden and almost crispy. Remove from the pan and season.
6 To serve, place several pieces of gnocchi on warmed plates with a handful of good salad, some fennel and a few shavings of hard cheese. To finish, I like to use a drizzle of wild garlic oil or the oil from any pesto. Also use some sliced radish if you like.
Baked Yorkshire rhubarb
Treat this like a compote and store in your fridge to be spooned onto
yogurt, a brûlée, rice or sponge pudding. So simple and works so well. I love the story that forced rhubarb can be heard creaking as it grows in candle-lit sheds in the rhubarb triangle of Yorkshire. It’s now protected by Slow Food’s Ark of Taste.
Serves four to six
500g washed, new season Yorkshire
rhubarb, cut into 1-inch pieces
zest of 1 orange
zest of 1 lemon
150g unrefined caster sugar
1 vanilla pod, split and seeds scraped out
a few tbsp water
1 Heat the oven to 200C/gas Mark 6. 2 Place the rhubarb in an ovenproof roasting dish, then add the orange and lemon zest, the sugar and vanilla pod and seeds. Mix it all together with your hands, then add the few tablespoons of water.
3 Bake in the oven for between 20 to 30 minutes until it is just cooked. Be careful not to overcook or it will turn to mush, so aim to keep a little bite to it. But equally don’t under cook it. Move the pieces around occasionally, to help it cook evenly.
4 Set aside to cool down then place in jars and use whenever you require. Or serve straight away with custard or rice pudding, my favourite.