I love cooking with wild garlic, and it’s a nice thing to do with my son, both collecting it and making delicious things with. Over the years we’ve made many tasty things, so I thought I’d share some of our favourite things to make with wild garlic. They’re in no particular order, some are quick and simple to make, some take a few hours, but all of them are very tasty indeed.

When you go foraging it’s important not to pick too much of anything. Take just what you need and save the rest for the wildlife or other foragers. If you’re foraging for wild garlic, you don’t need much anyway. It’s pretty pungent and a few leaves go quite a long way. I tend to try to pick the younger leaves in spots where I think (hope) dogs haven’t been. I always wash my wild garlic leaves before I use them anyway. You can find out more about wild garlic here.

7 things to do with Wild Garlic

Wild garlic and parmesan scones

These wild garlic and parmesan scones are so delicious. They’re everything you want from a savoury scone. I sprinkle a pinch of sea salt on the top which makes them extra delicious. This is such a great recipe, we can’t get enough of these simple scones, which are great for a quick lunch, or warmed with soup.

Wild garlic hummus

This simple hummus recipe is a real treat. Gently garlicky and full of good stuff. My son really loves this and gets me to make it a couple of times a week during wild garlic season.

Wild garlic macaroni cheese

This is a really simple recipe. It’s my standard go to macaroni cheese recipe, but with shredded wild garlic leaves scattered through it. It’s a really simple way of making something fairly basic into something fantastic.

Cheesy wild garlic quiche

This is a lovely quiche. Cheese and onion quiche is my favourite, but the addition of wild garlic really makes it something special. It’s a fine thing to serve to guests over for lunch, or just to keep to yourself if you’re a massive quiche fan, which I am!

Easy wild garlic pesto

Pesto is such a versatile thing to have in the fridge. This gentle wild garlic pesto is great stirred through pasta, or drizzled on pizza. Or in any way you’d normally use pesto.

Wild garlic pesto twists

If you’ve got a couple of tablespoons of wild garlic pesto going spare, then these cheese and wild garlic pesto twists are a simple but excellent way to use this lovely pesto.

Wild garlic and parmesan focaccia

This is the most delicious bread I’ve made. If you can get your hands on some lovely fresh wild garlic, it’s well worth making yourself. It’s like the best garlic bread you’ve ever had. I love this recipe!

Wild garlic is such a fantastic ingredient. It’s getting easier to come by now, many shops and deli’s are now stocking it in springtime. I hope this had given you some ideas about how to use any wild garlic you come across. Happy cooking!

Every year in March and April, the hedgerows and lanes hereabouts are abundant with wild garlic. When the wind blows in the right direction, we get a gentle whiff of garlic and off I go with a paper bag to collect a few leaves to cook with. One of my favourite ways to use it is in wild garlic and parmesan scones, which go really well with soup, or as a savoury snack with some good butter.

Of course when you’re foraging it pays to know a little of what you’re doing. Wild garlic can look pretty similar to other plants, some of which may be poisonous, but you can generally tell what is and isn’t wild garlic by the smell, which is, well, garlicky.

Recipe: Wild Garlic and Parmesan Scones

These wild garlic and parmesan scones are very delicious. They’re everything you want from a savory scone. I sprinkle a pinch of sea salt on the top which makes them extra delicious. This recipe makes about 8 big scones, though you could cut them smaller if you prefer.

Wild Garlic and Parmesan Scones

Ingredients:

125g butter
450g self-raising flour
50g finely grated parmesan cheese
5 wild garlic leaves, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
Big pinch of salt
Milk to mix, I used about 1/3 pint
Rock salt

How to make Wild Garlic and Parmesan Scones:

Pre-heat your oven to 190° and put a sheet of baking parchment on a large baking tray.

In a large bowl rub the butter into the flour with your fingertips, until the mixture looks like breadcrumbs. Add the parmesan, wild garlic, bicarbonate of soda and pinch of salt and toss together. Little by little add the milk, mixing with your hands until it makes a soft dough.

Tip the dough onto a floured surface and pat or roll it until it’s 1.5-2cm thick. I usually shape the dough and pat it down with my hands because it gives a slightly more rustic finish which I like. Cut the dough into rounds, don’t twist the cutter because this can prevent the scone from rising.

Recipe: Wild Garlic and Parmesan Scones

Put the cut scones on the baking tray, brush them with milk and if you like sprinkle a pinch of rock salt on the top of each one. Bake for 15-20 minutes until they’re nice a brown and hollow when you tap them underneath.

Serve hot from the oven with lashings of butter, or with soup or a ploughman’s lunch.

If you enjoyed this, you might also like to try these wild garlic pesto twists, wild garlic focaccia or this wild garlic pesto.

Recipe: Wild Garlic and Parmesan Scones