With its unique microclimate, the Isle of Wight is the perfect place to grow produce that wouldn’t grow in many other parts of the UK. One of the more famous of these, Isle of Wight grown products, has to be garlic. We even have a whole festival dedicated to this pungent bulb!
To celebrate April being National Garlic Month, we’ve put together a guide to all things garlic on the Isle of Wight.
The Garlic Farm
Garlic can create a wealth of different flavours depending on how it’s cooked. From the zingy heat of raw garlic to the subtle sweetness of roasted cloves, The Garlic Farm have been experimenting with garlic for decades and are constantly pushing the boundaries of flavour.
At The Garlic Farm Shop and Restaurant, you can sample an incredible spectrum of delicious garlicky goodness. The Boswell family are passionate about exceptional flavours and have opened up their farm to share their creations with you. The taste experience room allows you to try any or all of the farm’s 60-plus products. The restaurant has a full menu of garlicky goodness with freshly prepared breakfasts and lunches, using plenty of fresh garlic, local ingredients and foodie inspiration.
You’ll also find Isle of Wight garlic and other garlicky products in the Island’s numerous farm shops and delis.
The Isle of Wight Garlic Festival has been held on the third weekend in August every year since 1983. Its home is at the heart of the Isle of Wight, The Fighting Cocks Crossroads, just outside of Newchurch (a stone’s throw from The Garlic Farm).
A very family-friendly event, for visitors young and old, it’s one of the Island’s biggest summer shows. It plays host to an abundance of star chefs, musicians, local charities and businesses, plus a whole lot more from far and wide. Enjoy live music, children’s activities and of course lots of garlic… the roasted sweetcorn slathered in garlic butter is a must-try, trust us!
If you feel like taking a break from shopping for your ingredients and fancy trying something a little different, we’re now coming into peak Wild Garlic season. This runs roughly from April to June. At the moment, the Island’s woodlands are covered in great swathes of this delicious native plant.
2tbspoil or butter for fryingwe recommend Oil of Wight, Briddlesford or Isle of Wight butter for the most local flavour
1onionchopped
600gpotatoespeeled and diced
1.2litresveg stock
50gwild garlic leavesshredded
Briddlesford double cream(clotted cream, crème fraîche or soft cheese also work well)
wild garlic flowersoptional
salt and pepper
Instructions
Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Add the onion and white stems of the wild garlic and fry on a low heat for approximately 10 minutes, until softened and slightly transparent but without colouring.
Add the potatoes and stock. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes, until the potatoes are tender.
Add the wild garlic leaves, reserving a few shreds for garnishing the soup. Add a generous glug of double cream (or a couple of tablespoons of crème fraîche, clotted cream or soft cheese).
Blitz the soup in a blender or food processor until smooth, with flecks of wild garlic leaves. Return to the pan and add salt and pepper to taste.
Serve with an additional swirl of crème fraîche or double cream, a few shreds of wild garlic and a few wild garlic flowers, if you have them.
You can toss this into hot pasta, swirl it into vegetable soup, or use on bruschetta or crostini and it will keep in a jar in the fridge for a few days.
Prep Time10 minutesmins
Course: Appetizer
Servings: 4
Ingredients
3handfulsfresh wild garlic leavesabout 75g
35gparmesanfinely grated
50gtoasted walnuts
zest of a lemon
salt and pepper
Instructions
Add to a food processor…
Washed and roughly chopped leaves
Add the toasted walnuts
Add the finely grated Parmesan
Add the the zest of half a lemon, plus a good squeeze
Blitz to a paste
With the motor running, slowly add 100-150ml extra-virgin olive oil until you have a thick, sloppy purée.
Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper. And Bob’s your proverbial uncle!
Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4 and the roast the butternut squash in the oven for 40-50 minutes until tender.
Mix up the packet pastry ingredients together and roll into a 3mm-thick disc between two pieces of parchment paper. Line a 24cm ceramic tart dish with the pastry, trimming away the excess. Line with greaseproof paper, fill with baking beans and put into the fridge for 20 minutes.
Bake for 10 minutes, remove the beans and bake for 10 minutes more. Set aside.
Meanwhile, put the garlic in a small pan with a few tbsp of water. Simmer for a few minutes until almost tender. Add the butter and turn up the heat and cook until the water has evaporated and the garlic is starting to brown.
Add the maple syrup, cider vinegar and a pinch of sea salt and simmer for 5 minutes, until the garlic cloves are coated in dark syrup.
Peel the skin from the squash, chop into pieces and arrange in the tart base. Whisk the eggs, yoghurt and grated cheddar together with a pinch of salt and a few good grinds of black pepper and pour over the squash.
Scatter pieces of goat’s cheese and caramelised garlic over the tart, drizzle over the syrup and sprinkle with the tarragon.
Lower the heat to 170C and bake the tart for 30 minutes, until it sets and the top goes golden brown.
Put a large frying pan/ wok on a high heat and let it get nice and hot. Pop your rice in the microwave for the allotted time. Drizzle rapeseed oil in the pan and start sweat the garlic scapes and onion down with the spices.
Once the onion and scapes are nicely softened then add the rice, a glug of soy sauce and give it all a good stir. Once all mixed together create a well in the middle of the pan leaving the bottom of the center of the pan clear to crack your eggs into.
Mix the eggs carefully in the well you created int eh middle of the pan so the yoke is mixed with the white and slowly mix int eh rice from the edges stirring constantly break the egg rice up into chunky clumps. Once the egg is all cooked serve with a last dash of soy sauce. The garlic farm’s Vampire hot sauce works really nicely to serve with this dish.
