Wild Garlic Recipes: Time to pick and cook

Where can you find wild garlic?   If you are lucky enough to have deciduous, broad-leaved, mixed woodland nearby, the chances are you might find a shady spot hosting a patch of wild garlic. This lovely vegetable is a real treat as it has a short season and, so-far, doesn't seem to be commercially grown. It's not only tasty - a mild form of the more pungent bulbs we are well used-to - it's versatile and also really good for you. 

In 2021 I had the pleasure of shooting for Janice Murfitt's The Little Book of Wild Garlic  published by Austen McCauley https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=oTSuxe-bcuc. We braved some very chilly mornings to get good light for the location shots and had fun chasing the sun in Janice's garden for a few more while keeping the overall lighting and props styling fresh and simple to emphasise the delicious, natural foods.  The resulting book includes a lovely diverse range of wild garlic recipes to suit all occasions - I thoroughly enjoyed being "tester"! 

Trug with bunch of flowering wild garlic and garlic oil

                     

Chunky wild garlic spring soup

Wild garlic and feta stuffed aubergine pockets

Seared scallops with chorizo and wild garlic

Sue's special Thai Prawn Salad

So on 24th March 2019, with our lease up and our landlady selling, we left Grafton Mews, arriving home just a few hours before COVID lock-down! Since then what changes we have all seen! I am now hiring studios as appropriate to the job - sometimes East London, sometimes West and sometimes literally 5 minutes down the road in Maidenhead. I am pleased to report that hire studios have come on a pace since I used to hire them back in the '90's. But looking at this sadly-neglected Sue in the Studio Blog reminded me that I always promised to post a favourite studio lunch recipe - which we still do sometimes. 

Here it is:  This should serve about 6 with some flat bread (we use Sainsbury’s multi-seeded) on the side. 

Ingredients: 

1 large courgette, 

1 large carrot, peeled, 

1 bunch spring onions, 

1 -2 red chillies, heat as to preference, 

1-2 baby gem lettuces or 1 large bag rocket, 

1 red pepper, 

approx 300g good cherry tomatoes, 

2 packs cooked tiger prawn, 

1 bunch coriander, 

sesame seeds, 

approx 1 tblsp, 

juice of 1 lime, 

sesame oil, 

2/3 volume to lime juice, 

fish sauce e.g. Squid Brand, approx. 1 tblsp, 

1/4 teaspoon sugar, 

Nanami Togarashi - Japanese chilli seasoning, available on-line (optional).

Wash, finely shred or grate all the vegetables (we use a Papaya shredder). Halve the tomatoes, chop the coriander. Toss together in a large bowl, adding prawns and sesame seeds. Mix lime juice, oil, fish sauce and sugar to taste. Dress salad immediately before serving, adding a good shake of chilli seasoning for a bit of heat. Serve with warmed flat breads. 

Enjoy! Better still, come and have some in the studio with us on your next shoot....