It’s wild garlic season and the culinary world is, once again, obsessed with the fresh, pungent deliciousness of these wild greens. Walks in the woods over Easter weekend in the glorious sunshine were made all the sweeter by being able to share it with family and soak up the delectable scent of all the yummy recipes to come. I filled up a basket with leaves to make wild garlic butter, lacto-fermented wild garlic and wild garlic kimchi, and to use some of the fresh leaves for scones and these delicious and simple potato farls. I shared a post at this time last year with a few tips on how to preserve wild garlic so you can use it all year with my go-to recipes for wild garlic oil, pesto and butter.
With the growing popularity of wild garlic, I often get asked where and how to find it. Wild garlic loves shaded, wooded areas with moist conditions, often next to rivers or streams. It is also a marker of ancient woodland which is perhaps why my home town Nottingham seems to have huge amounts of it – I imagine Robin Hood himself would have enjoyed a hearty pottage spiked with wild garlic during his time in Sherwood Forest. There are maps you can use to identify ancient woodlands to give you an advantage on your wild garlic hunt, and the Woodland Trust has a great resource here. London’s chalky, clay-heavy soil isn’t generally the best for wild garlic, although there are places where it thrives even here.
Wild garlic is easy to identify by its strong, unmistakable garlic smell when the leaves are crushed. Look for areas carpeted with a dense mass of long, green leaves with straight veins that don’t branch, and leaves that do not form an arrow shape, but more of an oval. If it’s flowering that’s even better as it has distinctive domes of white, star-shaped flowers.
I made these Irish-style potato farls for the first time last year and the wild garlic enhanced their flavour really well. They work perfectly as a snack or light meal with a sprinkle of quality cheese, or served as part of a fry-up with baked beans. I’m going to enjoy some with some wilted greens and topped with an oozy egg and a sprinkling of chilli flakes. They are really simple to make and I imagine they would freeze well, although they tend to be gobbled up in our house before they make it that far!
Wild Garlic Potato Farls Recipe
Ingredients
- 500g floury potatoes (e.g. King Edward, Maris Piper)
- 50g plain flour
- 50g butter or plant-based alternative
- handful wild garlic
- pinch salt
Method
- Boil the potatoes until they easily fall off a fork when pricked. Mash together with the butter to help loosen them up and create a smooth mash.
- Stir in the flour and wild garlic until combined into a dough.
- Roll the dough out onto a floured surface until you have a 1cm-thick round. Cut into quarters.
- Fry each farl in a dry pan for 3 or 4 minutes on each side until nicely browned.
- Serve as part of a cooked breakfast or as a snack with some more butter!
As always, do let me know if you have a go at making these, either on Instagram tagging @plotandlane or in the comments below. I’m particularly keen to see how other people enjoy their farls!
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