Welcome to What Christy Cooked – a column where I impart culinary wisdom, a cracking recipe and hopefully a wee giggle with it. Firstly, some ground rules: we don't take ourselves too seriously. It's a place for feel-good food, first-times and full bellies. Cooking is my biggest source of joy, and I firmly believe a problem shared is a problem halved, and when discussed over a hot bowl of food, it's quartered. Welcome to episode one: wild garlic lasagne.
I live off the Old Kent Road in Peckham with a view of Lidl from my bedroom window and a behemoth industrial estate at my fingertips. And, while it's nice to know I'm moments from a B&Q and Pets at Home should I need a hammer or a hamster, you might say I'm a little divorced from nature. But, when March rolls in with its verdant thaw, we are no longer so separate, for that's when wild garlic season commences.
It's a time when I hoist up my tracksuit bottoms, don my Birkenstock clogs and power to the local park to harvest these garlicky blades of goodness. In true London style, you'll find them growing in thick emerald carpets under shady nooks, sharing space with dog piss, cigarette butts and empty crisp packets.
Once scrupulously washed, these garlicky leaves form a cornerstone for delicious spring cookery. They have a more subtle flavour than your bog-standard bulbs of garlic, so they innately lend themselves to quick and uncomplicated recipes. Pesto is a natural home for these leaves and makes a gentler version than a classic Genovese, which uses raw garlic cloves.
An impressive use for said pesto is a lasagne alla Portofino, or pesto lasagne – something I first saw Rosie Mackean (the pasta queen) do, and I've been making it every year since. My stance is that when you lasagne, you lasagne hard. If your third helping does not sedate you, you're not doing it right. In any case, this calls for a cheesy bechamel. I like to use aged, nutty cheese like comté, gouda or vintage cheddar, but these are optional if you fear fromage. Should you choose to make this recipe outside of wild garlic season, simply swap the leaves for a few handfuls of rocket and a clove of raw garlic. Schnozz at the ready… it's foraging time.
Where to find wild garlic in London
From late winter until the end of spring, you can find wild garlic in the same place you find bluebells – damp, shady nooks in woodlands, hedgerows and parks. You'll be able to smell it before you see it. Harvest from the middle of the patch and pick it well above the root to keep the plant happy. A few spots in London where you can find wild garlic are:
- Abney Park Cemetery
- Battersea Park
- Epping Forest
- Hackney Marshes
- Highgate Cemetery
- Hillcrest Woods
- Springfield Park
- Streatham Common
- Walthamstow Marshes
- Wimbledon Common
