Or wild garlic addiction part two….
Just kidding, I guess the whole numbering part would overboard as I am still planning on uploading more wild garlic recipes this spring season. Still it`s kind of satisfying to label everything by number, who agrees? Ok, enough for now!
As some amongst you might already know from reading this blog, we are getting a weekly box with organic veggies from a locals farm. There is going to be more talk about sustainable food shopping, supporting local businesses and living on organic products in a separate blog post. So in case you have questions concerning this topic, feel free to write them to me. Like that I can cover all your questions in the blog post. Back to the organic box… One of the first recipes created with the delivered veggies was this meal. By the way it`s super simple, quick and doesn`t require a lot of effort.
And on my opinion baking veggies in the oven is one of the best and most delicious ways to prepare them. The roasting process brings out all the different tastes and flavor components. A tremendous concert for our taste buds. As I tend to add a few tablespoons of oil to the veggies, you accurately could not call this process roasting, but I hope you guys aren`t too strict. Due to the way this meal is prepared, your veggies won`t need any fancy additions. Just season with a little bit of salt and black pepper, and use some tahini or herb-flavoured butter. The latter one actually can be veganized pretty simple; mix together your favorite herbs and spices with margarine and that`s about it!
Ingredients (for 2 persons):
- 250g green asparagus, organic
- 1 leek, organic
- 3 potatoes, organic
- 2 carrots, organic
- 2 tbsp olive oil, organic & cold-pressed
- 1/2 tsp salt
- a dash of freshly ground black pepper
- 100g margarine, vegan
- 50g wild garlic
Preparation:
- Preheat the oven at 200° Celsius.
- Rinse off all the veggies, peel asparagus and carrots.
- Quarter the potatoes, halve the carrots and cut them into strips.
- Halve the leek as well, remove the lower part with the roots and cut into strips. Rinse off once again to make sure there is no remaining dirt on your leek slices.
- Cut asparagus into thirds.
- Put all the veggies in a bowl, add olive oil, salt and black pepper and mix until all the veggies are evenly covered with oil and spices.
- Arrange the veggies on a baking sheet and roast in the middle of your oven for 30 up to 40 minutes. Make sure to check on them from time to time, as the leek tends to get burned quite quickly. If you want to make sure your potatoes are cooked evenly and nothing gets burned, then first put the potatoes in the oven for 10 minutes and then add the remaining veggies.
- As the veggies are roasting in the oven, you can prepare your wild garlic butter. Rinse off wild garlic leaves and chop them as fine as possible. Mix together with the margarine. In case you prefer a firmer texture you can prepare the wild garlic butter on the day before and store in the fridge (well covered). The most important thing is to NEVER EVER melt the margarine when making your own flavoured butter at home. I guess it`s also possible to prepare a bigger amount and freeze what you don`t need right away. Never tried this, but it should be possible.
For all the herb collectors and scrimpers in this world, you might want to go into nature to collect wild garlic by yourself. The plant usually grows in shady and damp areas, like the forest or near to rivers or streams. In case you want to do this please make sure you are well prepared, knowing everything about the appearance of wild garlic. There is another plant, called meadow saffron, which has leaves looking almost same same like the ones of wild garlic, but it`s a highly toxic plant. Wild garlic usually has a strong garlic scent, which should already be an indicator you collected the right herb, but there is so much more to know about taxonomy. So please really get all the information, before you go out into the nature collecting by yourself. In case you have doubts or you are afraid, just leave it! Like me, I am way to paranoid to collect wild garlic by myself.
Read you soon,
Sarah