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Like anyone who likes to forage, wild garlic season gets me excited more than anything else I can forage for! (I’d love to learn proper mushroom foraging and I’m planning to take a course on that.) I got a bunch of wild garlic with my Riverford veg box last week – so I quickly make a decision to turn them into mini wild garlic scones this time. They normally wilt very quickly, so once they are picked, they need to be used the same day or the next. I made Wild Garlic Pesto and Thai Wild Garlic Curry in the past, even tried it in Wild Garlic And Mushroom Rice Stuffed Courgettes. However this year, it was finally time for Mini Wild Garlic Scones. I was planning to make the vegan version for ages, but I did make the regular ones before, so I now included both the vegan and vegetarian options in this Mini Wild Garlic Scones post.
What is wild garlic?
Wild garlic is one of a number of plant species whose presence indicates that a wood is ancient. Also known as ramsons or bear garlic. It has traditionally been used in medicine, the bulb being one of the key ingredients in tonics for rheumatic problems and high cholesterol. It is also a popular foraged ingredient. The leaves are edible and the flowers are an early source of nectar for pollinators. The early flowering allows it to make the most of the sunlight that is still able to make it to the forest floor habitat, before the canopy becomes too dense.
When to forage for wild garlic?
Wild garlic grows in broadleaf woodland spaces and riverbanks in the UK from (you can instantly recognise the garlicky smell in the air where it grows). Picking times can vary each year depending on the weather, wild garlic leaves tend to begin appearing in early March and the flowers coming out a month or two later. Which means from late March through April and finishing early May is the picking season.
Ethical foraging
Wild garlic is super popular amongst foragers (one of the most foraged things after wild mushrooms), which means it can be a victim of over-foraging. Foraging is very useful for plant reproduction itself, however over-foraging – meaning clearing entire wild garlic patch in the wild. This is of course unethical foraging – avoid doing this.
Mini Wild Garlic Scones Tips
The recipe below is quite straight forward, especially if you made scones before. But here’s some extra tips to help:
- swap the same amount of dairy and the listed non-dairy products and it will work
- use some extra flower to dip the cutter into between cutting each scone as the dough is soft and sticky
- you can also make bigger scones – but adjust the baking temperature and time (I suggest lower temperature, 180 C and a bit longer baking)
- the wild garlic needs to be dry so make sure it’s not wet after washing it
Mini Wild Garlic Scones (Vegetarian or Vegan)
Ingredients
For the Scones
- 50 g finely chopped wild garlic washed and dried
- 250 g all purpose flour
- 50 g vegan/margarine or regular butter room temperature
- 4 tbsp nutritional yeast or grated cheddar
- 180 ml oat milk or cows milk or any other that has a neutral flavour
- 3 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
For the Wash
- equal amount of oat milk mixed with olive oil or egg wash
Instructions
- Measure out the ingredients and chop the wild garlic finely.Preheat oven to 200C and line a baking sheet.
- Sift the flour into a mixing bowl. Add the baking powder at one side and the salt on the other side and mix them into the flour. Then mix the whole mixture together. Add the butter/margarine and crumble it into flour until the mixture is smooth and even.Add the wild garlic and the nutritional yeast and mix well again. Little by little, in about 3-4 parts add the oat milk and keep mixing. If the end result is too wet: add some more flour to form a dough.
- Roll the dough out onto a floured surface, to about 2 cm thickness and use a small diameter cookie cutter.
- Bake them for about 12-13 minutes and let them cool down before eating.Store them in an airtight container and they will keep for 2 days.
