It’s that time of the year when wild garlic makes an appearance in our native English woodlands. As with all things seasonal, make the most of them as the season is rather short. Identifiable by its long, lush leaves and little white flowers (later in the season, note that they are perfectly edible) and underpinned by its garlic aroma, they looks and taste a little like giant chives. The sight of wild garlic on a woodland walk, especially when the pretty flowers appear, is as delightful as wandering through carpets of bluebell, even if sometimes accompanied by a pungent smell!

Unlike the common cultivated garlic, it’s the leaves that are eaten rather than the bulbs. The taste is more delicate too and can be eaten raw or lightly cooked. Quickly blanched or wilted in olive oil they make a delicately garlicky alternative to spinach. Wild garlic can also be stirred into soothing spring risottos, folded into an omelette or woven into a plate of buttery scrambled eggs. Make a soup or pesto of out it. Or use it in sauces to accompany meat and fish – try this garlicky sauce with pan-fried salmon and spring onion mash. Add it to your bacon and spaghetti, or to your sausages and fusili.

If you can’t get enough of wild garlic, try foraging for it in our very own Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park patch of woods, which we wrote about a blog post last year – check it out!

For more ideas on how to eat the vegetables in this week’s box, try searching on our webpage for past blogs!

This Week’s Bounty

No-Potato Substitute
Chioggia Beetroot, Lancs

Fruit Supplement
Apples – Gala, Kent (standard only)
Blood Oranges, Spain