Roasted Garlic Risotto with Roasted Asparagus Spears

Over the past month or so I have noticed a number of bloggers posting recipes or musings on the wonders of wild garlic (Allium ursinum). Recently in season this feral cousin to the humble chive (thank you Wikipedia ) is supposed to have a much more delicate flavour of garlic, just as chives do of onion, making it perfect for adding to salads, pestos, frittatas and the like. Unfortunately though, having seen neither hide nor hair (blub nor leaf?) of it anywhere wild garlic remains firmly on my “to try” list.

Through my recent conversion to a greengrocer girl though I have discovered another seasonal spring allium, also hitherto missed by my dependence on the supermarket and with which I have developed a mild obsession. Fresh garlic, also known as wet or green garlic, is same as the ordinary garlic we use all year round (Allium sativum) but in its freshly grown state before it has been dried out. In its young state the papery layers that usually enclose each clove remain wet and edible, and again the garlic flavour is much milder meaning it too can be eaten raw finely sliced into salads, or cooked as we would leeks or onions.