Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Where the wild things are (the Bath version, anyway)


Leeks, oysters and rhubarb; purple sprouting broccoli, lamb and British asparagus: such are the flavours that herald the arrival of spring - if you can’t make a celebratory feast out of such a glorious shopping list, you have no rite to call yourself a foodie. But don’t allow the brightest seasonal superstars to distract you from one of Britain’s most overlooked treasures, growing freely (literally) in a hedgerow near you right now.

Wild garlic grows plentifully in and around areas of mature woodland, and is especially abundant in the West Country. At first glance, it’s easy to mistake the clusters of tiny white, star-shaped flowers for some variation on snowdrops, but close up, you’ll notice slender, spear-shaped, vivid green leaves and a pungent, garlicky aroma that belies the milder flavour of the plant itself. Pick the leaves (and the flowers, to use as an interesting garnish) but leave the bulbs alone; they won’t mature for at least three years yet (if at all) - at this stage, their gift to you is a strictly topsoil treat.

Use rinsed raw wild garlic leaves to add a subtle garlicky backdrop to salads, or chop finely and sprinkle over warm pizzas, hot soup, pasta sauces or an omelette. It makes a lovely pesto (processed with olive oil, pine nuts and parmesan cheese), loves lamb and has a natural affinity with spring onion mash, while the pretty, mildly-flavoured white flowers can be scattered over almost anything (except, perhaps, that rhubarb).

But perhaps you'd prefer somebody else to forage on your behalf? If so, I bet that these guys are making the very most of the stuff that's proliferating in our local hedgerows at the mo:

Queen Street is one of Bath’s most interesting little streets. Approach it from the Sawclose end, and you’re led to the cobbles by a rather grand arch that lends the whole experience a characterful feel from the off. From there on in, the vibe is contemporary rather than historic, courtesy of several interesting shops and galleries, one of Bath’s friendliest pubs (the Raven) and now, the Wild Cafe.

Making full use of the empty nest left behind by Blackstone’s Kitchen, this cheerful cafe uses local, seasonal produce to create eminently satisfying breakfasts, lunches of both the light and substantial variety and a selection of downhome teatime treats, mostly cooked before your very eyes in an open kitchen. Notable highlights include the flexible brunch menu (including a full English made with fully English ingredients), power-packed salads, mussels cooked in cider and perfect fish and chips, but a recent lunch that brought avocado on sourdough toast to one side of the table and a meaty venison burger with gert fat chips to the other proved that, whether you choose to take a stunningly simple or sturdy and complex route to lunchtime satisfaction, Wild has got the whole gamut tamed to a tee.

Sustainable policies are pushed to the fore, light bites start at around £2.95 (with more substantial options scraping the £6-7 mark) and sandwiches and salads are available to takeaway, should you wish to spend lunchtime perusing the glories of Queen Street as you munch.

See you there? Oh, if only!

2 comments:

Ben's dad's wife Tanya said...

Dear fellow AD followers,

I had dinner at the Disco a couple of nights ago, and I just want to confirm that she really does mean she says: we had a main course of savoury cheesecake (which was absolutely gorgeous!) and the side salad that came with it was laden with wild garlic. I'd never had it before, and can thoroughly recommend both it and the AD dinner experience. I loved the rhubarb, pear and ginger crumble too, and the little shot glasses filled with mini bouquets of wild garlic flowers that were artfully positioned up and down the table.

Next stop: the Wild Cafe!

Cali Boy said...

See what she did with the rite/right thing? Did ya? Gotta lurve her for that alone! "She wouldn't normally do that kind of thing?".

I'm envious of Ben's dad's wife Tanya's experience. Last time I hung out at the Disco kitchen, I was lucky to have a bit of burnt toast flung at me!