Clodagh's wild garlic pesto and wild garlic focaccia
Today we celebrated one of the stars of the spring season - wild garlic!
You've probably walked past it and never even realised what it was, so Clodagh is here to tell us what to look for, whilst sharing some easy recipes to make the most of this seasonal delight - her wild garlic pesto and wild garlic focaccia.
Wild garlic pesto
Makes approximately 400ml
Ingredients
200g wild garlic leaves
Zest of one lemon
50g pine nuts, toasted
200ml extra virgin olive oil
50g parmesan cheese
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
1. Toast the pine nuts lightly on a frying pan over a medium heat until golden brown.
2. Place the wild garlic leaves into a food processor along with the lemon zest, toasted pine nuts, parmesan cheese and olive oil.
3. Season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper and whizz together until you have a loose paste.
Wild garlic focaccia
Makes 1 loaf (tin size 35 x 25cm)
Ingredients
500g strong white bread flour
4 tsp yeast
2 tsp sea salt
300ml cold water
3 tbsp olive oil
60g wild garlic, finely chopped
Sea salt
Method
1. Place the flour, salt, yeast, olive oil and water into a large bowl into a mixer and on a low to medium speed. Otherwise stir together with a wooden spoon to form a dough.
2. Tip the dough onto an oiled work surface and knead for five minutes. Return the dough to the bowl, cover and leave to rise until doubled in size, about an hour in a warm spot.
3. Line a large baking tray with baking paper. Tip the dough out of the bowl and flatten the dough onto the prepared tray, pushing to the corners, cover with a large tea towel, making sure it does not touch the top of the dough, then leave to prove for one hour.
4. Preheat the oven to 220C/400F/Gas 7. Drizzle the focaccia with oil, sea salt, and the finely chopped fresh wild garlic. Bake in the pre-heated oven for 20 minutes. When cooked, drizzle with a little more olive oil and serve hot or warm.