If you visit the woodlands either near Menlo, or in Barna Woods right now, you’ll notice the scent of wild garlic. The flowers are starting to bloom and will soon carpet the woodlands with white blossoms (taking over where the white flowers of wood anemone left off).
In Menlo, the garlic plants grow from every nook and cranny, including gaps in the huge limestone erratics that can be found throughout the woods.
And if you are inclined to grab a handful of leaves to bring home, mix with some olive oil, hazelnuts and hard cheese, and you’ve got one hell of a pesto.
I made a jar of Galway wild garlic pesto a couple of weeks ago, and put a couple of spoons of it into the middle of a chicken for roasting – the resulting gravy was amazing.