Wild garlic season is now in full swing and we've been having a lot of fun over the last couple of weeks, making sauces, pestos, soups and adding it to lots of Dovebrook meals including our famous Mac and Cheese! Anyone who has been following the Dovebrook journey for a while now will know that we are fortunate enough to live close to lots of beautiful woodland that has a bountiful supply of the stuff every Spring. For several years now since we arrived here we've been experimenting with it in all kinds of ways and we are delighted to have just added a wild garlic, leek and potato soup to our range.
We wanted to share a couple of different recipes, both of which would make excellent Easter weekend feasting alternatives!
The first is a whole roast cauliflower rubbed in lots of fragrant spices and garlic and then drizzled in a glorious wild garlic, pistachio and pumpkin seed pesto. This dish has it all- satisfying crunchy textures, a luxurious and indulgent sauce and a great mix of seeds, herbs and dried fruit for the garnish. What's also great about this dish is that we use the whole cauliflower leaves and all!
Whole Roasted Cauliflower with wild garlic, pumpkin seed and pistachio pesto
(recipe adapted from Ben Tish- Great British Chefs)
Ingredients:
- 1 large cauliflower with leaves, end of the stalk trimmed so it can stand up on its own
- olive oil, for cooking
- 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1/2 tsp coriander seeds
- 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
- 1/2 tsp fennel seeds
- 1/2 tsp sweet smoked paprika
- 1/4 tsp chilli flakes
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 50g raisins soaked in warm water
Wild garlic, pumpkin seed and pistachio pesto:
100g wild garlic
50g parsley
3 tbsp pumpkin seeds
3 tbsp pistachio nuts
Juice of two lemons or limes
½ tsp of maple syrup
Sea salt and pepper to taste
150-200 ml olive oil
Garnish:
Toasted pistachio nuts, fresh seasonal herbs (we used chives, dill and parsley) hemp seeds and toasted buckwheat groats.
Method:
Preheat an oven to 170°C/Gas mark 3 1/2
Place the cauliflower on a roasting tray and spread out the leaves at the base. Liberally drizzle over some olive oil and then sprinkle over the spices and garlic and season well.
Place all the spices in a pestle and mortar or spice grinder and grind to a powder
Rub the cauliflower with your hands to massage in the spices, then transfer to the oven and cook for 25 minutes. Drizzle over some more oil, turn down the heat to 140°C/Gas mark 1 and continue to cook for a further hour or until the cauliflower is beautifully browned and tender.
Whilst the cauliflower is cooking, make the wild garlic pesto. Blitz everything together in a blender and season well with salt and pepper.
Place the cauliflower on a serving platter or cut into large pieces and divide between individual bowls, surrounded by the crispy cauliflower leaves and drizzle with the pesto. Top with toasted chopped pistachio nuts, hemp seeds, fresh seasonal herbs (we used chives, dill and parsley) and the soaked raisins.
Another beautiful recipe we made involves slow roasting thick slices of celeriac and then stacking them up whilst smothering each layer with another decadent and delicious wild garlic sauce with an Asian flare!
Celeriac 'Steaks' with Wild Garlic Miso Sauce
Ingredients:
One large celeriac, peeled and sliced into 2.5 cm rounds.
2 tbsp Olive oil
1 tsp sea salt
Wild garlic sauce:
100g wild garlic
100g spinach
35g coriander leaves
2 tsp white miso paste
3 tbsp nutritional yeast flakes
Juice of one lemon
1 tbsp sunflower seeds
white pepper to taste
1 tsp sesame oil
3 tbsp neutral oil such as rapeseed
Method:
Preheat the oven to fan 170 and lay out the celeriac steaks on a large lined baking tray. Drizzle generously with olive oil. Sprinkle with 1 tsp sea salt. Place in the oven for 20 minutes. Then turn the slices and roast for another 25 minutes until nicely golden brown and tender.
Meanwhile make the wild garlic sauce simply by blending everything together. You may wish to add a splash of water to the sauce. We love adding Asian flavours like miso paste to lots of our dishes and it's always fun to jazz up a humble root vegetable like celeriac and show it in a totally new way. This dish feels so luxurious and is another great vegan alternative to a Sunday roast dinner.
