Evicted Garlic

The tunnel in our garden is being planted with seedlings, it’s like an instant garden. The beds are filling up with cute rows of spinach, pak choi, herbs etc . There is also a big bed of garlic and onions that has been growing all winter, none the worse for wear after it’s months of exposure whilst the tunnel was wrecked. There’s a piece of chicken wire attached to the wall behind where they are growing and this is where I plant beans and peas . The borlotti beans are already in and thriving and today I transplanted the sugar snap peas. It was a bit of squeeze to get them in behind the garlic and I ended up picking the back row of garlic to make space.

The evicted garlic  was a real bonus. I cooked a potato and garlic soup and it was absolutely yum.

If you don’t have baby garlic I’m sure wild garlic would make a great substitute. The woods and lane ways are full of wild garlic at this time of the year

Potato and Garlic Soup

1 onion, peeled and chopped

2 stems celery, diced

3 potatoes, peeled and diced

25g butter

25 mls olive oil

about 600mls vegetable stock

8 baby garlic or a large bunch of wild garlic

Melt the butter and olive oil together and then add the onion and celery. Sweat them gently whilst you peel and dice the potato. Stir the potato into the onion and celery, season with salt and black pepper and sautee gently for at least ten minutes. Give the occasional stir so that it doesn’t stick.

Clean up the garlic. peel off the very outer layer, trim the tatty ends of the green part and rinse under the tap.

Chop the white part of the garlic first and add this to the onion/spud mix. Cook for five minutes then stir in about 600mls of vegetable stock – if the soup is too thick which is likely the consistency can be adjusted at the end. Bring to the boil and simmer for about five minutes. Chop the green part of the garlic and add into the soup. Cook for another couple of minutes then give the soup a brief buzz – I like to have lumpy bits in mine.

Taste and adjust the seasoning then serve with a swirl of cream, creme fraiche or yoghurt.