All things wild and beautiful

Photograph: Jill Mead for the Guardian

 

Time for Wild Garlic, one of the many smells and flavours that mark early spring for me, together with asparagus, spring green and shoots, artichokes, nettles, mimosa, wysteria and many more.

Wild garlic is not the usual bulb with cloves, like the garlic we know, but looks more like a spring onion with a white flower on top.The beauty of it is you can eat it, flowers and all!

Why is wild garlic good for me?

Its main properties: antibacterial, antibiotic, antiseptic and just cleansing and supporting the immune system. The main health benefit of garlic is its effectiveness in reducing blood pressure and, hence, heart disease and the risk of stroke. Although all garlic has this property, wild garlic has the greatest effect on lowering blood pressure. Adding wild garlic to our diet at this time of the year helps flushing away those toxins and build up of bad cholesterol we accumulated during winter time.This applies to all the food that is grown wild and local and that is in season. Mother Earth knows what our bodies need at each and every moment!

Where to find wild garlic

Wild garlic grows in early spring in weed-like abundance in woods and even in unpromising-looking urban green spaces, filling the air with its aroma. Its sword-shaped, silky, moist leaves resemble those of Lily of the Valley, so rub a leaf between your fingers to make sure that it releases the characteristic garlicky smell. Foraging for wild garlic adds culinary purpose to a Sunday stroll, but you'll also find it  on farmers' market stalls.


Recipe for a simple potato soup with wild garlic



This is a bit like what I remember my Sicilian grandma used to make, which we called patate spezzatino

Ingredients

6 floury potatoes

1 garlic clove

stock

a bunch of wild garlic

extra virgin cold pressed olive oil

a little chilli flakes- optional

Flakes of sea salt      

 Put the potatoes peeled - washed and cubed in a pot with a garlic clove and add some water/ stock ( I make a stock with onions, celery and carrots, bay leaves and fresh herbs, like parsley. If necessary I add Marigold bouillon at the end)
Boil the potatoes in the stock for a good 15 - 20 minutes.
Remove from the heat and add the wild garlic to wilt, or line the soup bowls with the wild garlic and then pour in the soup.
 Put the extra-virgin olive oil and the chilli, if using, on the table for people to help themselves. You could also garnish the soup with a grated, crumbly cheese, such as Parmesan, or Pecorino.