spaghetti

The wild garlic season is in full swing here.  It hasn’t flowered yet and the small leaves are beautifully tender and full of that garlic zing.

It grows in great swathes in the shade of the trees.

Last night I made this pasta and a wild garlic bread to go with it.  It was very tasty and full of the essence of spring. Just remember to wash your wild garlic well, you can never be sure how many domesticated and wild animals might have visited the same patch before you ;). Also be sure to have identified it correctly using a hedgerow plants guide.

4 rashers of bacon snipped into bite size pieces
2 cloves of garlic, finely sliced
frozen or fresh peas
handful of wild garlic leaves, sliced
spaghetti (I used 200g for 2 adult  and 2 child size portions)

Method

Bring a large pan of water to the boil and add plenty of salt.  Add the spaghetti and cook until al dente (follow the pack instructions).

Fry the bacon pieces at a high temperature until beginning to brown, add the peas and the crushed garlic cloves and continue to fry but reduce the heat a little to prevent the garlic from burning.  When the spaghetti is cooked ladle a spoonful of the pasta water into the bacon pan and then drain the spaghetti and tip it into the pan.  Add the sliced wild garlic leaves.  Turn everything over to get well covered in the bacon fat and serve in warm dishes.