One of the wild vegetables I enjoy harvesting most is wild garlic.
It's only around for a short time, from spring to early summer, and as soon as the warm weather arrives, it seems to disappear completely. A few times I've gone out too late and couldn't find a trace of it anywhere.
I find that blending the leaves and freezing them in portions like this is the best way to preserve them for cooking.
You can use them in chicken Kyiv, wild garlic chilli oil, bread, crackers, biscuits, or almost any recipe that calls for wild garlic, and they always taste just as fresh.
Tonight, I added some to grilled chicken thighs, and it was absolutely delicious.
This is one of my made-up recipes. It saves the fuss of making a proper chicken Kyiv, which is a bit more of a process, but the flavour is very similar, just without the batter and butter being encased inside the meat.
First, I divided my frozen wild garlic into portions and added a little minced garlic for an extra punch.
Then I cut some butter into small pieces.
Next, I prepared the chicken thighs. I like soaking them in water with a bit of vinegar for a couple of minutes and rinsing.
Then seasoned them with salt.
Using my index finger, I carefully made a tunnel underneath the skin.
After that, I gently inserted the wild garlic mixture and pieces of butter under the skin.
The wild garlic and butter will soak into the meat while cooking and won't burn.
Rub extra butter on the skin.
Arrange them neatly.
I cooked the chicken under the grill at 180°C for 15 minutes on each side, then finished it with a blast of heat to crisp up the skin.
Flip them gently.
The result was wonderfully buttery, garlicky chicken with crisp golden skin.
The melted butter underneath is also delicious spooned over the chicken, or you can use it to stir-fry rice for even more flavour.
The garlicky butter seeped right into the meat, which makes it very, very tasty and juicy.
Serve with vegetables of your choice or with rice.
Do you enjoy foraging wild garlic? What's your favourite way to use it?
Have a lovely day.
Mariah 🌱