You may or may not know (we suspect not), but tomorrow (April 19th) is National Garlic Day, and so to celebrate we’ve picked (not literally for reasons mentioned below) wonderfully simple yet aesthetically pleasing recipe to bring to you.
Native to central Asia, garlic has a lengthy history dating back 6,000 years. Long a staple of Mediterranean diets, garlic was a commonly used seasoning in the cuisines of Africa, Asia and Europe. China is currently the world’s biggest producer of garlic followed by India, South Korea, Egypt and Russia.
Regarded as a force of both good and evil, the Egyptians are said to have fed the herb to workers building the Great Pyramid of Giza because they believed it boosted their stamina. In the Middle Ages, plague-phobic Europeans ate whole cloves of garlic to fight off the scourge known as the Black Death.
Known as nature’s wonder drug, garlic is recognized for its wide-reaching medicinal properties, in the treatment and prevention of disease. It has been credited with extending human longevity, preventing certain cancers, lowering cholesterol levels, reversing high blood pressure, resisting the common cold and overcoming fatigue.
The herb, which can also be deemed a vegetable too, is rich in protein, vitamins A, B-1 and C and contains essential minerals such as calcium, magnesium and iron. It also contains 17 different amino acids.
It’s not all good news though… dubbed the ‘stinking rose’ because of its overpowering taste and smell, garlic is known for causing bad breath, which apparently can be neutralised by sipping milk or eating parsley.
Ok lets move on to the recipe, and it really is wonderfully simple.
Dandelion leaves have been added to neutralise some of the garlic, and for all there is no cream involved the potatoes provide a delicious creamy taste.
Something to note is that for all wild garlic can be found in the wild (as the name suggests) it is probably better to buy it in a shop, as they are very similar in appearance to autumn crocus and lily of the valley, both of which are toxic and should not be consumed.
It also should be noted that the daisy’s are just for decoration, although they can be eaten if you’d like.
Creamy Wild Garlic Soup with Dandelion Leaves
Serves 4 People
Ingredients
* 1 onion
* 1 handful of wild garlic / ramson
* 1 handful of dandelion leaves
* 1-2 large potatoes, raw or already cooked
* 3/4l vegetable broth {Americans: 3 cups}
Directions 1. Cut onion and fry with a little oil in the pan, until translucent / slightly browned
2. Pour vegetable stock
3. Peel Potatoes, if they are still raw, grate into soup. If they are already cooked, simply cut into small pieces and add to the soup.
4. The potatoes cause the “creaminess” of the soup (instead of whipped cream, sour cream or roux / flour sweat). Therefore, they should be overcooked until they are very soft and fall apart on their own.
5. After about 10 minutes of cooking, cut the wild garlic and dandelion leaves into pieces and cook for 2-3 minutes
6. Puree with a blender or hand blender puree until the soup is creamy
For this and more great recipes please head on over to vienna-sunday.kitchen and for more information on National Garlic Day please check out here.