Psst! I know where you can get free food. You can find it in most woodlands and riverbanks around the UK at this time of year. Can you guess what it is? Wild garlic. Wild garlic belongs to the chive family and has a soft garlicky taste and you can eat both its leaves and flowers. It’s easy to identify and ripe for the picking – go forage for some.
A few weeks ago I was in Lewes to visit friends and we took a short drive to Barcombe Mills for a lovely stroll along the River Ouse. It was here where we got our stash of wild garlic. We filled a carrier bag full – it was in such abundance that it didn’t even make a dent to what was there. We foraged nettles too and later made nettle soup but it didn’t turn out so great, so we won’t talk anymore about that.
Wild Garlic
What was successful was a wild garlic pesto. I’ve combined this to one of my favourite things to eat at breakfast at the moment, Turkish eggs. This dish contains yoghurt with raw garlic, but I’ve replaced the raw garlic with a dollop of wild garlic pesto and it tastes great, give it a try.
Turkish-Style Eggs
Tasty eggs, great for breakfast or brunch
Ingredients
- 2 heaped tablespoons of plain Greek yoghurt
- knob of butter
- sprinkle of dried red chilli flakes
- sprinkle of fresh green chilli (finely chopped)
- 2 teaspoons of wild garlic pesto (see recipe below)
- sprinkle of fresh parsley (finely chopped)
- 2 organic eggs
Directions
- Step 1 Put the Greek yoghurt into a bowl. Add two teaspoons of the wild garlic pesto (see below) and mix together. Transfer yoghurt mixture to a small serving bowl/plate/dish of choice.
- Step 2 Poach eggs to your liking.
- Step 3 Whilst the eggs poach melt a knob of butter in a pan over a medium heat. Once the butter has browned add a sprinkle of chilli flakes and freshly chopped chilli.
- Step 4 When eggs are poached to your liking, drain and place on top of yoghurt then spoon over the sizzling hot chilli butter.
- Step 5 Sprinkle finely chopped parsley on top. Serve with flatbread or tortilla.
Wild Garlic Pesto
Tasy, punchy, pesto
Ingredients
- 100g wild garlic (leaves and flowers)
- 50g walnut or pine nut
- 35g of grated grana padano cheese
- juice of quarter of a lemon
- 125ml extra virgin olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste
Directions
- Step 1 Put all the ingredients into a food processor and blitz to a paste.
