Four to watch this week
The Regime (6 episodes, streaming from April 8 exclusively on Now)
Academy Award winner Kate Winslet sharpens her talons and comic timing for a six-episode dark comedy created by Will Tracy, which shares directorial duties between Stephen Frears and Jessica Hobbs.
Chancellor Elena Vernham (Winslet) is the terrifying leader of a fictional European autocracy, who has grown increasingly paranoid about the world around her dictatorship.
She hasn’t left her palace for weeks and is woefully out of touch with her people.
A dangerous obsession with emotionally volatile soldier Herbert Zubak (Matthias Schoenaerts) propels Elena down the road to disaster as she takes the military man as her unlikely confidant and adviser.
He encourages the Chancellor to meet public resistance with violence and intimidation, and Elena unwittingly presses the self-destruct button on her inglorious tenure.
Her reign of terror is broadcast on Sky Atlantic and streams exclusively on Now.
Alex Rider – Season 3 (8 episodes, streaming from April 5 exclusively on Amazon Freevee,)
A London-based teenage spy’s journey of self-discovery comes full circle in the third actionpacked series based on the best-selling books penned by Anthony Horowitz.
Alex Rider (Otto Farrant) has severed ties to The Department, his handler Mrs Jones (Vicky McClure) and shadowy section chief Alan Blunt (Stephen Dillane).
The adolescent operative is free to make his own choices and he elects to bring down the Scorpia criminal network with the help of his guardian Jack Starbright (Ronk Adek lu ejo) and good friends Tom Harris (Brenock O’Connor) and Kyra Vashenko-Chao (Marli Siu).
Scorpio is poised to use a new weapon, Invisible Sword, to extort the British Government and Alex intends to intervene to avert catastrophe.
However, his adversaries hold important information about the death of Alex’s uncle.
Sugar (8 episodes, starts streaming from April 5 exclusively on Apple TV+)
Academy Award nominee Colin Farrell stars in and executive produces an eight-part detective story directed by Fernando Meirelles.
The first two episodes sleuth this week and subsequent instalments hunt for clues on Fridays.
Private investigator John Sugar (Farrell) is tasked with solving the disappearance of Olivia Siegel (Sydney Chandler).
She is the beloved granddaughter of legendary Hollywood producer Jonathan Siegel (James Cromwell), who will pay handsomely for her safe return.
As John follows the haphazard trail of evidence, he unearths the Siegel family’s darkest secrets and many compelling motives for Olivia’s abduction.
It’s a highlight of the wild food calendar and one of the easiest things to forage for – but in a few weeks, wild garlic will disappear for another year. Put a weekend aside to collect and preserve this wonderful plant, ensuring a well-stocked, gorgeously garlicky larder for months to come.
Wild garlic (or ramsons) – just like asparagus, jersey royals and radishes – lets us know spring is well and truly here. Most of the season’s abundant produce can be picked up in the shops, but wild garlic requires a romp through the countryside or your local park. Fortunately, once you’re there, it’s easy (and safe) to source, identify and pick, and it’s so satisfying to cook and eat something you’ve gone out to forage for yourself.
We use fresh wild garlic with abandon during its season, but it’s usually died down by mid-May, making it a short-lived love affair, so put a weekend aside each year to fill a few carrier bags with the stuff – then wash, blanch, dry and preserve your haul to use in the months to come.
How to forage wild garlic
● The peak time tends to be early April (in the UK).
● Head to shady woodland, particularly near a body of water or river.
● Avoid paths or roads, as you run the risk of dog wee and/or car fumes (neither of which anyone wants in their dinner).
● Look for clusters of fat, swordshaped dark green leaves and (depending on the time of year) flowers sporting dainty white petals. If you’re unsure, crush a leaf between your hands and give it a whiff – you’ll know if it’s wild garlic or not. This sniff test is important, as there are similar-looking plants (lily of the valley) that are poisonous. Those leaves don’t smell like garlic, however, so the real stuff is easy to identify.
● Only pick on public land (or private land, with permission) and make sure to only pick above ground, as legally anything below the ground needs to be left intact so it can grow back.
● Snip or pick the leaves, avoiding brown or damaged ones.
● Don’t strip an area completely – pick a little and move on.
How to preserve wild garlic
First you need to blanch the leaves briefly in boiling water, then dry them (this preserves the colour and flavour). Bring a large pan of water to the boil while you give the leaves a good wash: submerge them in the boiling water for 15 seconds, then drain and immediately rinse under cold water to halt the cooking.
Give the leaves a good squeeze in your hands, then wring out in a tea towel – you want them to be as dry as possible. The wilted leaves are now ready to preserve as wild garlic butter or oil – or simply frozen.
Freezing the leaves is easily done in little blocks (like the frozen spinach you can get at the supermarket). Whizz or finely chop blanched, cooled and dried leaves, then pack tightly into ice cube trays. Once frozen, transfer to a freezer bag and use as needed – you can add them to dishes directly from frozen or use in place of basil to make pesto. Frozen leaves will last up to 4 months before they start to lose their colour and taste.
Don’t fancy foraging?
You can buy wild garlic fresh from farmers’ markets – at a premium – but you can also create your own patch. Buy bulbs online and plant them in a shady spot in your garden. In a year or so, you should have a crop of ‘domesticated’ wild garlic. Just make sure it’s in a closed-off border or a large container as it’s an invasive plant and can take over flower beds.
● For wild garlic recipes (including wild garlic butter and oil) head to deliciousmagazine.co.uk