I wanted this recipe post to be an ode to eating seasonally. To celebrate the golden orb of a persimmon that we bite into as October advances. Or how extraordinarily honeyed a fig is when it is plucked just as the summer departs. Or, the way your heart sings when you get a whiff of wild garlic growing untamed in early spring.
Eating with the seasons is something I am stupidly romantic about. Nothing fills me with as much joy as watching the way the content of my farmer’s market basket transforms throughout the year. Blood oranges make a fleeting appearance as January arrives, followed by the blushing stalks of rhubarb with their shock of yellowed leaves. Asparagus and artichokes in the spring, parsnips and Brussels sprouts around Christmas…
The freshness of this food has a kind of magic.
Growing up in Singapore (did you know I grew up in Singapore?) seasons, and seasonal produce, was something I longed for. And what better a time to honour this cycle than in the spring – when screaming pink radishes are pulled from the earth, and wild garlic threatens to grow over every inch of woodland floor?
Something else I am stupidly romantic about – foraging. There is something seductive about wild food, about rummaging through the undergrowth in search of a spear of wild garlic, or a tendril of peppery watercress. The thrill – food! For free! (#studentlife)
If you, like me, are a novice to the great world of foraging, wild garlic is just the place to start. The plant is prolific and pretty easy to identify. Lush, slender emerald leaves that form little spears poking out of river banks and along forest footpaths. Later in the spring, the flowers arrive – white, and iridescent when they catch the sunlight.
If the lingering scent of garlic isn’t convincing enough, all you have to do is tear a leaf and take a whiff – if it smells powerful, garlicky – bingo.
(If you’re after a little more wild-garlic-foraging info before you set out on your quest, HERE is a great article to help you)
I transformed my little haul into a vegan wild garlic pesto – simultaneously soothing and explosive. It is a simple recipe, and using pumpkin seeds instead of pine nuts also means it’s pretty affordable (free wild garlic!). The flavour of the leaves makes this pesto taste pure, and fantastically fresh.
I slather mine over rounds of golden socca – a gluten-free flatbread-slash-pancake made with chickpea flour – and scatter slivers of radish (for some clean contrast) and lengths of grilled asparagus. This dish screams spring.
The blossoms, too, are edible. And while they may be milder and gentler than the leaves, still have a definite garlic-like flavour. I like to pluck off the white frond-like petals and reserve them for garnishing. Nothing is more blissfully spring-like than edible flowers.
It is better if you have the time to make the pesto in advance – letting it chill in the fridge for a few hours allows the flavours to mellow and get to know each other a little better. Either way, this dish is a joy to make, and to serve – with a little dish of flaked salt on the side.
- 6 cups packed chopped wild garlic (200g), washed well and drained
- ¾ cup pumpkin seeds
- ½ cup olive oil
- 3 tbsp nutritional yeast (optional)
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 cup chickpea flour
- 1 cup water
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tbsp finely chopped rosemary
- 2 tbsp olive oil (half each for the pan)
- 10 radishes, sliced thinly
- 10 spears of asparagus, fibrous stems chopped off
- 1 cup watercress
- ½ cup pumpkin seeds
- First, make the pesto. Chop the leaves up (and the stems) into smaller pieces and place in your food processor with the rest of the ingredients. Process and push down with the tamper until a paste forms. I like a bit of texture in my pesto so I leave this a little rough. Chill in the fridge as you prep the rest of the dish. If you have the time, it is best to make this the day before.
- To make the socca, whisk together the chickpea flour, water, salt and rosemary into a smooth, lump-free batter. Let this sit for 20 min to let the flour hydrate. Meanwhile, grease a cast-iron pan (or any other oven-safe pan)*, and preheat your grill. When the batter is done resting, heat the greased pan over a high heat. When the pan is hot, pour in 1 tbsp of olive oil and swirl it around to coat the base of the pan. Pour in half of the soccer batter and soil to coat the base of the pan (careful, the pan is hot!) and immediately pop it under the grill to let it cook. It should take 8-10 minutes for the top to char slightly and for the soccer to become firm, but keep an eye on it. When it is ready, remove the socca and repeat the process with the remaining oil and batter to make another flatbread.
- As the batter is resting, or as the socca is cooking, lightly grill the asparagus spears and radish rounds on a grill pan.
- To assemble, top each socca with half the pesto, and distribute the grilled vegetables between them. Scatter fresh watercress and pumpkin seeds to garnish, as well as a few wild garlic blossoms, if you have them.
- This dish is always best eaten fresh, when the socca is hot and still ever so slightly custardy in the middle.
If you are serving this dish for a little spring soiree – follow this with a beautiful blood orange polenta cake, or rhubarb galette, for a truly sumptuous spring feast.
This looks delicious and your photography is amazing.