Last year during lockdown I finally had time to experiment with the gorgeous lush Wild Garlic that is one of my favourite things in my little garden. I’m not sure how they got there but along with the Bluebells they are a beautiful sight signalling we’re truly into Spring.

I searched for recipes and found this one for Pickled Wild Garlic Buds, on a lovely website theseasonaltable.co.uk a journal of slow food and slow living from a small holding in rural England. There’s also a recipe with Rainbow Chard that inspired an orgy of online seed buying. I grew my a little plot of Rainbow Chard which lasted from summer through the winter right up until a few weeks ago.

This vinaigrette was great on salads, tossed with pasta and even with cheese. Be warned though, it’s best kept in something liike a Mason Jar as it’s not very kind to metal lids.

Ingredients

Wild Garlic Flower Pods picked before they open, to fill a small jar

3 parts apple cider vinegar, enough to just fill your chosen jar

1 part granulated sugar

Add vinegar and sugar and to a saucepan and heat gently until the sugar dissolves. Let it cool.
Remove the wild garlic flowers from their pods by splitting open the pod and pinching off the little green flower stalks at the base. Place the gathered flower buds in the jar.
Cover the buds with the cooled vinegar sugar mix. Seal the jar and leave for at least a week before using.

Some recipes use the whole pod, you might want to experiment. Other recipes include Pink Peppercorns in with the buds.

If it’s not Spring where you are or you’re not a fan of Rhubarb you might get away with just doubling up on the pear.

160g Butter (or non dairy baking spread)
180g Sugar (I use half and half white and muscavado)
120g Self Raising flour
60g Almond flour
3 Small to Medium Eggs (or 3 tbs chia seeds soaked in water).
1/2 tsp Baking Powder
100g Rhubarb stalks cut into 2cm bits
1 Pear (optional) peeled, cored and cut into small cubes.
1 tbs Brown sugar (+ optional 1/3 tsp cornflour) + 3-5 tbs water

Set oven for 180 deg C and prepare a 20cm/8 inch round cake tin for baking.
Place Rhubarb stalks and Pear pieces in a small pan with the water and the 1 tbs of brown sugar. Bring to the boil, turn down immediately and simmer with a quick stir for about 1 minute. Turn off and allow to cool.