If you wander into a forest right now and smell garlic, you have not gone mad or haven’t suddenly become synaesthetic. It’s wild garlic season, it’s everywhere and it does smell really quite pungent. As I have been walking a lot lately, the sight of these beautiful, vibrant green leaves inspired me to make a wild garlic chickpea stew – for die hard garlic lovers like myself.
If you are on the fence if you like garlic or wild garlic, I recommend giving this recipe a go instead. If are still on board, let’s go foraging first and then cooking.
Wild garlic (also called ramps or ramsons) is a wild herb that thrives in woodlands and shady areas. I am lucky to live near many wild garlic hotspots and every Spring I find them pretty irresistible. Wild garlic is an absolute treasure for any cook, especially for those who enjoy fresh, seasonal ingredients.
When cooking with wild garlic, it’s worth remembering that it’s intensity level changes over the course of its growing season, which is why I recommend starting off with a small amount of leaves and only adding more if you find the intensity lacking. Early in the season leaves are milder in flavour, mid season (around the flowering time, which is right now in the UK!) the flavour intensifies resulting in leaves that are much more “garlicky” and after flowering the leaves aren’t that pleasant to eat. How garlicky your leaves are depends also on things like sun exposure and soil moisture so use a small handful to begin with an add more if needed.
MORE ABOUT THE INGREDIENTS
WILD GARLIC: Wild garlic leaves, not bulbs – in fact you should not pluck those out of the ground to allow the plant to grow back – is what you need for this and most wild garlic featuring dishes. Before you go foraging, be sure to familiarise yourself with the look of the plant as there are some plants that may look similar but not only are they not edible, they are deadly (lily of the valley is a frequently quoted example).
CHICKPEAS: As this is a wild garlic chickpea stew you’ll need chickpeas, loads of them! Get the nicest chickpeas you can find or soak and cook your own (a touch of baking soda makes their centers meltingly soft). If you don’t like chickpeas, other beans will also work. My second choice would be some kind of small white bean like cannellini.
LEMON: This dish benefits from a generous amount of acidity – adjust to your own taste – and I also like to add a zest of one lemon for brightness and fragrance.
ONION: Onion does not need much of an explanation as it forms the base of pretty much any stew or soup! The only thing I would say is dice finely and sauté patiently 🙂
NUTRITIONAL YEAST: Nutritional yeast is a staple vegan seasoning and if you haven’t got it in your cupboards already, I recommend you get it. It adds bags of flavour and a hint of funkiness (sort of cheesiness) to soups, stews, pestos you name it.
PLANT MILK: I like to use soy milk for cooking as extra plant protein is always welcome, but any unsweetened plant milk that you like the taste of will work beautifully here.
If your appetite for wild garlic is insatiable at this time of the year (like mine!!), here are some of my favourite wild garlic recipes I published to date. Enjoy!
INGREDIENTS
- 30 ml / 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 medium onion, finely diced
- 4 tbsp nutritional yeast
- zest of one lemon + juice to taste
- 2 x 500 g / 17.5 oz jars of chickpeas
- approx. 20 g / 0.7 oz of wild garlic* / ramsons
- 240 ml / 1 cup plant milk, more to taste
- salt & pepper, to taste
- wild garlic pesto, to drizzle
METHOD
- Pre-heat 2 tbsp of olive oil in a heavy base pan, add finely chopped onion and sauté until translucent. Season with salt and pepper.
- In a small blender combine wild garlic leaves (if using pesto to garnish, I would start off with 20 g / 0.7 oz and add more if needed) with nutritional yeast, a cup of cooked chickpeas and plant milk. Blend until smooth.
- Add blended wild garlic mixture to the pan with the rest of the chickpeas. Season well, add lemon zest and lemon juice to taste. If wild garlic flavour isn’t strong enough, blend some more leaves in or simply adjust at the end by drizzling the dish with wild garlic pesto.
- If using, mix 2 tsp of wild garlic pesto with 1 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil in a small bowl. Drizzle over the finished dish and serve.
NOTES
*WILD GARLIC: please be mindful of the fact that wild garlic’s intensity level changes over the course of its growing season, which is why I recommend starting off with a small amount of leaves and only adding more if you find the intensity lacking. Early in the season leaves are milder in flavour, mid season (around the flowering time, which is now!) the flavour intensifies and so the leaves become much more “garlicky” and after flowering the leaves aren’t that pleasant to eat. How garlicky your leaves are depends also on things like sun exposure and soil moisture.