I’ll probably always associate wild garlic with St. Anne’s Park. The park is the first place I ever saw it, or saw it when I knew I was seeing it. I’m the kind of person who can notice a slight garlic aroma on a walk and not really wonder where it’s coming from. Bill, on the other hand, scented it like a herbivore beagle, picked some strappy leaves and proceeded to pesto it. We didn’t notice the garlic until a little late that year, so the following spring Bill watched for the little shoots and waited patiently until it was big enough to eat.
So it’s only fitting that wild garlic brought us to St. Anne’s Park a few weeks with a group from Slow Food Dublin. We were on an urban foraging expedition that would culminate in a lunch celebrating green things plucked from park lanes. We were being hosted by Tom O’Connell of O’Connells who had fed us breakfast and accompanied us on the bus ride to the park. He had already procured loads of wild garlic, but we picked up some nettles and some Alexanders to take back for our lunch. [Note that it is possibly illegal to forage in parks, so like, don’t tell nobody.]
Talking about Alexander
Ladybugs are called Ladybirds in Ireland. By any name, they are not afraid of nettles.
Upon return to O’Connells, Chef Udo Wittman demonstrated making several dishes with wild garlic–a potato and wild garlic soup and a beet, wild garlic & goats cheese salad. Chef Udo was great, giving us lots of information and laughs. Two things I found interesting: the tiny nettle leaves can be eaten raw with no treatment (yikes!) and that urban honey is more flavorful because of the variety of flowers.
Chef Udo grates beet for our salad
And then then the best part–lunch!
Our menu:
Wild Garlic Soup
Charcoal Oven Roasted Leg of Lamb with Wild Garlic Champ, Sauteed Nettles and Alexanders Gratin
Irish Country Rubarb Cake with Whipped Cream
Chef Udo's garlic soup was scrumptious, drizzled with some wild garlic and parsley in oil
The lamb was terrific. O'Connells has a charcoal grill that provides a wonderful flavor to the grilled meats.
The sauteed nettles were a revelation--so tasty, and it takes just a minute of cooking to remove the sting.
The Alexanders' celery-like flavor was delicious in the gratin.
A fantastic meal–and we had earned it by strolling through the park and looking so intently at plants!
Several folks shared some harrowing nettles stories from childhood, but I think every one agreed that nettles can indeed be food. And Bill and I learned about Dock leaves that always grow near nettles and are supposed to neutralize the sting. Tom and Chef Udo were such great hosts, our companions were lovely and the sun shown on us. A fantastic outing.
As it turns out, Bill, Dad and I were back in St. Anne’s today picking wild garlic and nettles for our Easter dinner. Bill used the garlic to stuff the lamb, and he’ll hopefully recreate the magic of the sauteed nettles.
On a recent Sunday, Bill and I drove to South County Wicklow to visit our veg guy. That’s right, we don’t have a local–that pub where everybody knows your name–but we do have a veg guy.
His name is Duncan Healy, and he’s at the Red Stables Market in St. Anne’s park every Saturday. I’ve mentioned before that the market is part of our favorite Saturday routine, and after a bunch of Saturdays of chatting over chard or tomatoes, Bill and I started referring to Duncan by name and saying things like, oh, if Duncan has some nice kale today I’ll make a kale and white bean stew. Well, Bill would say those things.
And then one day there were tomatillos.
The way I remember it, I was at work on a Saturday, and I received a single-word text from Bill: Tomatillos! I let out a yelp and raised my phone over my head like large-haired Joan Cusack at the end of Working Girl.
While my recollection may be altered by the mists of time, we did indeed find tomatillos in Ireland and we were stoked! If you’re unfamiliar with the tomatillo, it is like a cross between a tomato and a pepper and is in the gooseberry family. Tomatillos are common in Mexican cuisine, frequently used in salsas and sauces.
My favorite use for tomatillos is to toss a few into a blender along with a clove of garlic, a serrano chile (or jalapeno or bird chile), and an avocado. Blend. Then enjoy a bright, perfect marriage of creamy and tangy. It’s great as a dip, or served with Rick Bayless’ potato and pork tacos. (See right.)
Bill likes to roast tomatillos. For a fresh salsa, throw a few tomatillos, a clove of garlic, and chiles into a roasting pan and roast about ten minutes until blackened. Blend these ingredients to a puree, and then add some diced onions and cilantro. The roasting mellows the flavor of the tomatillo and adds tasty charred bits. You can also freeze the puree of roasted tomatillos, garlic and chiles. This base can be added to browned onions to make a salsa verde, which is excellent with pork (see below) or add onions and cilantro for salsa as above.
We were delighted to be invited to visit the Healy farm. Duncan grew up on the farm, and returned a few years ago to work with his father, Denis. The farm operates as Organic Delights, providing produce to restaurants and through stands at many markets including Temple Bar and Dun Laoghaire. We’re really happy that our local market sells so many veggies grown right down the road in Wicklow. What they can’t grow in Ireland, they will import, so the Organic Delights stall is always bursting with selection.
After feeding us homemade pizza, salad and blueberry crumble, Duncan led us and a contingent of kids and other family members around the farm to visit the pigs and see all the baby veggies growing big and strong. We snacked on plums, apples and raspberries as we explored the greenhouses with onions drying, tomatoes blushing to red, and pea tendrils climbing their trellises. We collected a few veggies to bring home, including two round, green squash that when cut open looked like a cross between the seedy pulp of a crookneck squash and the stringy spaghetti squash, and tasted better than that description indicates. In fact, they were lovely stuffed with quinoa, beef mince, onion, tomato, and a couple tomatillos, and topped with cheese.
Thanks to Duncan and Cindy and family for a great day on the farm.
Petting a pig
A pocket full of watercress
Raspberries (still not used to berries being an Autumn fruit)
Tomatillos!
From the market this morning. Oh what goodness lies in store!
Posted by Sharon under Blog Comments Off on Saturday in the Kitchen with Bill
It’s official: We have a Saturday routine.
After a bit of a lie in, Bill gets up around 10:00 to watch Saturday Kitchen. I usually wander into the living room by 11:00. Saturday Kitchen is a bit of an institution, which is evident by the number of mentions in the twitterstream during the broadcast. The show features in-studio cooking demonstrations by visiting chefs, as well as dishes prepared by the host James Martin. James is a polarizing force in the world of television hosting, with distinct pro and anti camps. We’re both pro. I think he’s an excellent host, very adept at describing what he’s cooking and chatting up the celebrity guest* at the same time. Saturday Kitchen also includes clips from a variety of other BBC cookery** shows by the likes of Rick Stein, Keith Floyd, the Hairy Bikers and sometimes even our old Fat Lady friends, Clarrissa and Jennifer. The Omlette Challenge which pits guest chefs in a timed egg match is surprisingly entertaining. One benefit of watching Saturday Kitchen is that we’re now familiar with many of the British chefs of the moment.
After watching 90 minutes of food being prepared, Bill makes his way to the kitchen to produce some kind of amazing brunch. Recent creations are pictured below.
French Toast with Orange Zest and Cinnamon.
Baked Eggs with Spinach.
Breakfast Tacos with M&S British, Outdoor-Bred, Dry-Cured, Smoked,
Streaky Bacon. Tastes like real bacon!
Most Saturdays Bill pays a visit to the Red Stables Market*** in St. Anne’s park. I frequently accompany him. The market is one of the reasons we love our proximity to St. Anne’s. It’s a small market, but contains all the major tasty groups: organic meats, cheeses from Sheridan’s, various ethnic foods, tempting breads from Soul bakery, and organic fruit and veg from Duncan at Organic Delights. Sometimes Duncan has amazing surprises like tomatillos or white onions.
Bill comes back from the market inspired to cook wonderful things. For example, the cavolo nero in this photo (above) was featured in pasta along with garlic, pancetta, and cherry tomatoes.
Recently Bill has been keeping an eye on the wild garlic growing by the river.
I guess it makes sense that our Saturdays, like our holidays, revolve around food. Happy Saturday everyone!
Hey, Bill just came back from the Market with Scallops! Yum.
* Guests are of some noteriety in Britain, which means we often have no idea who they are. My favorite guest: Len Goodman. ** They say cookery here. *** If you have four minutes, watch this video I found with scenes of Red Stables market, with a few misspellings, set to a slightly annoying soundtrack.
