By the river near where my In-Laws live in the North East is a vast swathe of wild garlic. You smell it before you see it. Heady and sweet a vampires worst nightmare. The stuff is delicious, raw or cooked. Earthy and green, it tastes so fresh. Its season is quite short April to June and fortunately the plants had sprouted early, especially given the weather. I filled a carrier bag with freshly plucked plants, though I could have easily filled a dozen lorries. So now I need to cook the wild garlic before it wilts which is what Ill be doing this week. To start off is this delicious Wild Garlic Soup.
Serves 2-4
50g butter
4-5 new potatoes, peeled and diced
1 onion, finely chopped
1 litre vegetable stock
3-4 handfuls wild garlic leaves, thick stalks removed
100ml double cream
Salt and pepper, to taste
1. In a large saucepan, melt the butter and cook the potatoes and onions for 5 mins, Add the stock and bring to the boil. Cook for 10 mins until the potatoes become tender.
2. Add the wild garlic leave and cook for a further 10-15 mins.
3. Allow to cool, then transfer to a food processor and whiz until smooth.
4. Return to the saucepan and reheat, but dont boil. Add the double cream, stir through and serve with crusty bread.
