The long, flat deep green leaves found in woodland areas or riverbanks across the country feel like a herald of Spring. Wild garlic is a great place to start when foraging for food, it has a distinctive shape, colour and is incredibly versatile in the kitchen. This recipe combines wild garlic with peppery rocket, courgettes and lemon zest.
This recipe is inspired by ingredients sent in this month's Forage Box, a subscription service delivering a monthly collection of wild/foraged foods. Forage Box aim to provide home cooks like me with 'snapshots’ of wild flavours and to showcase their potential in the kitchen. From syrups to salts, freshly picked to powdered, juice to jam, their foraged ingredients will delight and surprise you. Find out more information on the subscription and how to sign up here.
INGREDIENTS (Serves 2)
1 courgette
olive oil
1 small garlic clove, crushed
handful cherry tomatoes
50g wild garlic
150g rocket
1 unwaxed lemon
4 organic eggs
100g Greek yoghurt
1 tsp harissa
flatbreads or sourdough, to serve
*You will need an oven-proof saucepan (no plastic handles) for this recipe, alternatively you can poach the eggs by leaving the pan on the hob with the lid on.
METHOD
Preheat the oven to 170oC/150oC fan/gas 3.
Wash the wild garlic and the rocket and place them in a 23cm ovenproof frying pan with a drizzle of oil. Add some salt and cook over a medium heat for about 5 minutes, or until the rocket has wilted and most of the liquid has evaporated. Strain the liquid from the leaves in a sieve set over the sink, pushing down to remove as much of the water as possible, then put them back into the pan. Grate over half of the lemon zest.
Meanwhile, slice the courgette, drizzle with oil, rub with salt, pepper and the crushed garlic, then place on a baking tray. Add the whole cherry tomatoes, season and drizzle with oil then place in the hot oven.
Make four deep indentations in the rocket mix, and crack an egg into each little hole. Place in the oven for 7–10 minutes, or until the egg whites set.
Meanwhile, mix the yoghurt with the other half of the lemon zest and some salt and pepper. Combine 1 tsp of harissa with 2 tbsp of olive oil.
Once the eggs are done, take them out of the oven and spoon over half the yoghurt mixture (leaving the rest for the table). Top with the toasted sesame seeds and a drizzle of the spicy harissa oil, and serve with flatbreads or good sourdough.
