Wednesday 24 April 2013

A stinky day!

Yesterday, we took Lynne's advice over at Textile Treasury Blog and went to get some wild garlic. On the way home (with one carrier bagful), we stopped off to buy some oil, cheese, nuts in order to make something with it all.

Once home, it was put into cold, salted water to wash it clean
then spun in the salad spinner before being weighed
I looked at lots of recipes on line for wild garlic and nut pesto then adjusted it to our tastes. In the end I settled for 50g of leaves, 20g of parmesan, 20g of walnuts, 10 turns of the salt and black pepper mills and 4 tablespoons of olive oil. Can you spot the mistake - yep - filled it up then realised I had forgotten to put in the blades - doh!
Had to tip it out, put in the blades and refill. I whizzed it up, scraped it down and whizzed it again. A second batch was done then I did two more using mixed nuts. After 4 lots I had this much:
I had also bought 3 silicone trays in which to freeze ice cube size amounts and set about filling them up, one flavour at a time. The tray were double wrapped and put into a sealed bag whilst they froze. The other bowl was treble cling filmed and stored in the fridge overnight.

The remaining leaves were washed, spun, checked for nasties (found nettles, dog mercury and a few other things in with them), then the 5 sealed bags were put into the fridge to keep their crispness and colour
This morning, I removed the now frozen cubes and tipped them out - very easy with silicone trays
These were then put into one closed bag, then into a second one and put back into the freezer
After that, I then did the same with the second bowl. I tried some of the scrapings on a tomato sandwich for lunch - boy is it hot and garlicky!!!

Hope to use up some more tomorrow - might do wild garlic butter and freeze in the same way.



12 comments:

  1. This sounds very tasty. John doesn't eat or even like garlic ( although when I cook with it he doesn't even notice!) but I love it so freezing this is in an ice cube tray is a good idea. I've not seen any wild garlic around here but it grows in the area our friends live in Sussex. Thanks for sharing DC.
    Patricia x

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    1. Yes, I also thought ice cubes about the right size as it is very powerful stuff. I even think I may allow a cube to thaw then add it bit by bit to get the correct taste.

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  2. That sounds delish! Funnily enough I watched Monty Don on YouTube last night making basil pesto, but this sounds better xxx

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  3. Hiya, do you mind me asking where you found the garlic. I have been desperate to try some for ages, and last year we were away at this time and now we are on the coast in Stiffkey (I think the garlic is found more near rivers?) I am going to a talk on foraging in June, and cannot wait - hopefully by then I will have some elderflowers for cordial. Many thanks, Alison

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    1. As a general guide, it grows in woodland, in near or among bluebells, and is identifiable by its garlic-like smell and long lush leaves, which are similar in appearance to those of Lily of the Valley. Foraging for wild garlic in woodland is fairly straight forward, found in semi-shaded, moist conditions. If you're unsure of what you've found is the real thing then its smell is the ultimate clarification.
      One place it grows is Ashwellthorpe woods, near Wymondham and also in Jervis Lum which is a wooded dell to the south of Norfolk Park. Also try here The Norfolk Coast Path through West Runton Heath and Beeston Regis Heath, Norfolk. Bluebells and wild garlic carpet the woodland floor in late April and May.DOUBE CHECK you don't need permission to check as at some places you do.

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    2. Thank you so much for this information. We have just started to explore the area with our one day off each week (although we do get 'pockets' of time sometimes during the day) and cannot wait to get our and see more. I have started to explore some of the links from your blog, and see there are others around Norfolk, so will take a closer look over the next few days for further useful information. Thank you once again - loving this blogland!!

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  4. WOW!! You and Lynne have both been garlicky busy. Its brilliant that you both have access to some delicious foraged food. Great idea to freeze in those silicone trays.

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    1. If you put in a search engine you may be able to find it in your area, see response to above question.

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  5. Oh now you've got me going with those silicon trays! What a brilliant idea! I froze my batches in small plastic pots as mostly I need enough to serve two of us with humus, or cream cheese, but to add a splodge into soups/stews/pasta sauces etc etc these are ideal! On the cheese/nut mix, I found the nicest one was the cashew nuts/parmesan/strong cheddar. The second batch I made using pine nuts/almonds and mixture of seeds , and only the cheddar cheese was very good but not as scrum my as the first lot. Endless possibilities ahead, me-thinks! Glad you found it, there's LOADS isn't there? Will be popping in on the way home from my music session in Norwich tomorrow, as I want to try stuffed wild garlic leaves. Watch this space. or rather, my space! (Will also be popping into Lakeland on the way home to pick up some silicon trays!)

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    1. Well, I wanted to preserve it in very small amounts. Thought this the best way. Each cube is small enough to store in an egg cup if we only want a little as a relish in sandwiches etc.

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  6. A friend of mine made soup from some of the wild garlic and it was wonderful. Yum! It doesn't seem to grow around here - or at least not anywhere I've looked. My friend got theirs when they were on a day out to somewhere not very local so I can't try there unfortunately. Can you grow it in a shady corner of the garden, I wonder....

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    1. Yes, you can grow it from seed BE WARNED HOWEVER, IT CAN BECOME VERY INVASIVE AND DIFFICULT TO REMOVE - WORSE THAN MINT.See here: http://www.ehow.co.uk/how_4464765_grow-organic-wild-garlic.html
      If you want to grow it, make sure it can be confined not only sideways but also underneath. A large pot, lined with weed suppressant fabric and the pot buried to show an inch or two of its rim ought to suffice.

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