Wholemeal Dough Balls with Wild Garlic Butter

With the teasing of spring we have been treated to over the past couple of weeks everything has begun to wake up on the farm after what has felt like a particularly long winter. Every unfurling bud and sunny day are helping to lift everyone’s spirits – and the woods are alive with the smell of garlic. This Saturday (20^th March) marks the beginning of astronomical spring and the wild garlic in our ancient woodlands has begun to lay down the carpet for its arrival.

‘With a slightly more subtle flavour than traditional bulb garlic the leaves of this plant aren’t only native to the UK but are also delicious. In continental Europe it is known as bear’s garlic due to being a favourite of the brown bear still present there. The latin for wild garlic is Allium ursinum, where Allium places it in the garlic family and ursinum refers to the latin ursa for bear. They dig up the bulbs and snack on them in the spring after waking up from hibernation, reportedly to get their digestive tracts back up and running after their long sleep. This is a popular property of this plant, it is traditionally used throughout Europe as a spring tonic and is favoured for it’s blood purifying properties. It is also said to lower cholesterol, reducing the risk of diseases like heart attacks and strokes’ (see Wild Garlic and Cheese Scones).

This year I have gone with a simple wild garlic butter recipe to accompany wholemeal dough balls. Perfect for a movie night the wholemeal flour in the dough balls adds extra texture and a deeper flavour to more traditional plain white dough with a crunchy crust perfect for cutting through the wild garlic butter. Ready from start to finish in 3 hours 45 minutes (of which only 45 minutes is actual preparation, the rest is proving and cooking time) this is a simple recipe that is easily achieved in an afternoon.