Garlic mustard/'horseradish' aka Alliaria petiolata/Jack by the Hedge

Please seek landowners permission before uprooting wild plants. Under the Wildlife and Countryside Act (1981) which covers England, Scotland and Wales, it is illegal to uproot any wild plant without permission from the landowner or occupier.

I harvested my garlic mustard roots in March. You may find the taste varies throughout the year.

Ingredients:

Garlic mustard roots

Apple cider or White wine vinegar

Salt

Method:

1) Wash and trim the roots as necessary, until you are happy with your ingredient's cleanliness. I soaked mine in the bathtub as there was so much of it, but for a small batch a wash and scrub in the kitchen sink filled with cold water will do the trick.

2) Chop it up into small pieces removing any bits that look manky. The idea is to give the hand blender or food processer an easy time of it, so chop up well if you can.

3) Blitz the shit out of it with a tablespoon or two of water added to help it on it's way assuming you are not doing a huge quantity. I used my Bamix hand blender and it did it like a dream. I can't comment on the power of the device that you will be using, but keep going until it is of a consistency that you are happy with. Don't aim for smooth, you want a chunky paste!

4) Transfer it into a bowl or similar if using a food processor. You want to be able to mix it by hand and taste as you go.

5) Add in a good glug of your vinegar, then some salt, mix well and taste test. This is where you really need to judge for yourself as to how vinegary you like it etc. I found it not necessary to add very much, a couple of glugs and an equal amount of turns of rock salt and I was happy with the taste.

6) Store in your fridge in a sterilised glass jar.

Notes:

You don't need to use a Kilner or similar hinged/rubber sealed jar. You can simply reuse a regular jar and microwave it (minus the lid!!, til nice and hot to ensure it is clean.

We used ours both with beef dishes and as a nice addition to good old mashed potatos too.