7 things to do with Wild Garlic

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!

Easy Recipe: Quick Wild Garlic Hummus

Over the weekend I visited Whalley Abbey for a walk. The grounds were covered in spring flowers and the trees were starting to blossom. Amongst the daffodil and crocus were some newly sprouted wild garlic, and once we came across an especially abundant patch, I decided to pick a few handfuls to make something nice with once I’d got home. The something nice turned out to be a batch of wild garlic hummus, and it’s a recipe I’m sure will become a firm favourite this spring.

As an aside, I’ve been slightly confused for several years now about the spelling of hummus. Is it hummus or houmous? Apparently hummus is the most common spelling, which is for more Arabic style hummus. But houmous is for humous with a more Mediterranean vibe. See, every day is a school day!

Easy Recipe: Quick Wild Garlic Hummus

Anyway, back to the wild garlic hummus. I made this delicious batch, partly thinking that it wouldn’t be popular with my 12 year old, but he tucked into it as soon as he got home from school. Thankfully there was enough left to have with our evening meal (aubergine filo pie and salady bits, if you’re interested), but I’m already fielding requests for more!

As you’re using wild garlic in your recipe, you don’t need to add the usual garlic cloves to your hummus. It is a bit gentler than your standard hummus, which I like. I’d be tempted to throw in a bit of parsley next time, if I have any. I am a bit mad for fresh parsley though, and there are very few things which can’t be improved by a generous sprinkle of fresh parsley leaves.

Recipe: Wild Garlic Hummus

Ingredients:
50g Wild Garlic, well washed and patted dry
1 tin of chickpeas, drained, but do save a couple of tablespoons of the liquid
1 lemon, zested and juiced
2 tablespoons of tahini (you can add more if you want to)
3 tablespoons of olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Easy Recipe: Quick Wild Garlic Hummus

How to make your wild garlic hummus:
Make sure you wash your foraged wild garlic well and pat it dry. I tend to make hummus in my Nutribullet, because it’s just the right size and does the job really well. If you don’t have one, then your usual food processor is absolutely fine too.

Put everything in the food processor and blend it. You might need to stop it and poke it down with a spoon so the blades can blend it all evenly. You might need to add a little of the chickpea liquid you set aside if it’s too firm, or a bit more olive oil if you like.

Taste it and check if it needs any more salt or pepper and add more if you think it needs it. Once it’s fully blended, it’s ready to serve. If you like, you can add a little drizzle of olive oil over the top of your hummus, just to give it a bit of extra shine.

We ate it greedily on toast, but also dipped crackers into it and had a large dollop on our salad. It will keep for a few days in the fridge in an airtight container, but if your house is anything like my house, it’ll disappear in a matter of hours!

If you liked this, you might also like to try these other wild garlic recipes –

Easy Recipe: Quick Wild Garlic Hummus