So wild garlic season is in full swing!  Wild garlic are among the first greens to appear in the spring and are always a welcome sight, heralding  warmer brighter days.
 If you like   garlic then you will love wild garlic. You can use it anywhere you would use spinach, in salads, soups, omelettes,   dips and pesto.
Most people make wild garlic pesto with oil  but I like to make mine  with just salt and ferment it for 5 to 7 days for fabulous flavour and  loads of probiotics!!
It's a win  win situation, seasonal eating at it's best,   and wild garlic is free!!

So this pesto is delicious, tangy, garlicky with real texture and umami flavour, and so simple to make!
You can use any combination of nuts and seeds.
 Pine nuts, sunflower seeds & a tablespoon lemon juice works well
You can add sun dried tomatoes, olives and harissa for a Mediterranean flavour
Endless possibilities  so get your creative hat on and your wellies and go and collect some !
Go to your nearest wood and your nose will guide you to   carpets of  delicious wild garlic! Be aware that Lily of the Valley sometimes grows beside wild garlic and looks quite similar.  It is however poisonous and doesn't smell of garlic.   Just take a leaf and crush it,  it will smell unmistakably  of garlic. Just google it if you are unsure, there are lots of videos and articles on identification. 



 
Ingredients

• Giant bunch of wild garlic, at least 250g
• 150g cashew nuts 
• 150g seeds, sunflower or pumpkin seeds
• a tsp sea salt ( about 5g)

Method

1. Wash the wild garlic and either finely chop or blitz in a food processor.
2. Transfer to a large bowl and sprinkle with the sea salt.
3. Massage wild garlic to release some brine; alternatively you can bash it a bit with a rolling pin! 
4. Add the nuts and seeds to the processor and pulse a few times to break them up. You don't want them finely ground, some bits are good for texture! 
5. Add to the wild garlic in the bowl and give it all a good mix! 
6. You can put the lot back into the food processor and blitz a few times
7. Pack it tightly into a clean glass jar, leaving a bit of headspace.
8. If you don't have enough brine to cover the pesto then top it up with filtered water and top it off with a zip lock bag filled with water to weigh it down.
9. Cover and leave at room temp for 5 to 7 days, until it tastes nice and tangy!
10. It’s a good idea to put a plate underneath it to catch any escaping brine and be careful when you open it, mine was fairly active!! Just put your jar in the fridge where it will happily keep for ages!!

 
 

Fluffy Vegan Sourdough Pancakes
These pancakes are so fluffy and delicious! You can make the batter up the night before so you can have fantastic pancakes for breakfast with no fuss at all. You can either use active starter or discard from the fridge. You can also use this recipe to make delicious waffles! You may need to thin the batter down a bit for waffles so just add some plant based milk until you have the right consistency. These can also be   savoury pancakes, just leave out   the   vanilla extract   and   reduce the sugar to 1 tablespoon.  Then add whatever veggies you fancy,  sweetcorn, onions, peppers, herbs or  spices . This works best with cooked veggies so just add whatever you have  available, great for using up leftovers!

Ingredients

• 300g plain flour
• 250g sourdough starter 
• 350mls dairy or dairy free milk
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons oil
• 2 eggs or chia or flax eggs *
• ½ tsp salt
• 2 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp vanilla extract (optional)

*Chia or flax egg is one tablespoon chia or flaxseeds mixed with 3 tablespoons warm water, this is equivalent of one egg. So for this recipe you need 2 tablespoons chia seeds and 6 tablespoons warm water. Mix and leave for 10 minutes before adding to the pancake mix.
 
Method

1. Combine the sourdough starter, flour and milk in a medium mixing bowl. Cover and allow to ferment overnight.
2. In the morning create a well in the batter with a wooden spoon and crack the eggs in, mix in then add the sugar, oil, sea salt, baking soda, baking powder and vanilla extract.
3. The batter should be fairly thick, but you add a bit more milk if it’s too thick.
4. Lightly grease a griddle or large non stick pan with oil or butter. Heat over a medium heat and add spoonfuls of the batter to form pancakes. Cook for several minutes until bubbles begin to appear. Carefully flip and cook for a few more minutes until evenly browned.
5. Serve with sliced banana, mixed berries and a drizzle of maple syrup.
6. These pancakes freeze well and are delicious toasted the following day!

This is one of my favourite dips. It’s just delicious and packed with health promoting ingredients! The addition of fermented garlic adds a healthy dose of probiotics, walnuts and extra virgin olive oil supply omega 3, tahini adds calcium and magnesium and beetroot contains nitrates which relax the blood vessels, reducing blood pressure and increasing blood flow to the brain!

This dip is great with raw veggies, on a baked sweet potato, in a wrap, sandwich or with oatcakes! I have yet to meet anyone who doesn’t like it and it’s such a fabulous colour!!


Ingredients

• Pack of vacuum packed beetroot (250 to 300g)
• ½ cup walnuts
• 1 tablespoon tahini
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 1 clove garlic or fermented garlic
• sea salt to taste

​
Simply add all the ingredients to a blender or food processor and blitz until blended. A hand held stick blender works well too! Transfer to the fridge and enjoy!!

​