WILD GARLIC &HERB BUTTER

I know we’ve finally hit spring when the woods behind my Parent’s house are carpeted in luscious green wild garlic. As a child we’d build dens in the trees and come home at tea time stinking to high heavens of the stuff. Lovely!

I’ve been dying to get cooking with some of this beautiful stuff and a herby butter (or Beurre Maitre d’Hotel if you’re feeling posh) felt like a good place to start experimenting.

I headed out in to the back garden (our field) to forage and discovered a hidden treasure:

This perfectly engineered home was nestled between the branches of a small bush. You can see how low to the ground it is – the plant to the left is wild garlic, and to the right is a nettle. Probably not the ideal place given the number of hunting animals near by, but I felt privileged to be able to peek in whilst Mummy blackbird was off collecting food. I really hope these 3 little eggs tough it out and I can peek back in a few weeks and see fluffy chicks. Ahh… I’d gone all mushy but I managed to collect what I’d set out for.

Now, are you ready for the easiest recipe ever? To make your own wild garlic butter, all you’ll need is:
250g Butter (I promise I’d have made my own if I had a snazzy mixer to churn it in)
1 Shallot
1 tbsp chopped parsley
4/5 wild garlic leaves, washed

Add all ingredients to a blender and blitz until combined. Season to taste.

Now roll it up snug in a sheet of greaseproof paper to mould in to a log, or spoon in to ramekins and gift to garlic loving friends. This will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for two weeks or you can slice in to discs and pop them in the freezer so that you always have some to hand.