Grilled greens, wild garlic, pak choi, beans, asparagus, soy & white pepper

Wild garlic is in season in the UK from mid to late February to the end of June. Although picking it is allowed, unrooting it is actually a crime as Britain's wild plants are all protected under ‘the Wildlife and Countryside Act (1981)’, which makes it illegal to dig up or remove a plant apparently. Take some scissors and just snip what you want, leaving the roots to continue growth.

Not to mention wild garlic also has many poisonous lookalikes, so make sure you do your research if you are to pick it yourself. Also make sure to give it a proper wash, as the wildlife love the taste and smell of fresh wild garlic too so better assume it needs a thorough wash just in case.

Charring the vegetables over the barbecue before cooking adds an deeper depth of flavour to the broth. You can use any variety of vegetables, so don’t limit yourselves to just these. I love it with cabbage or kale, even cucumber.

Serves 2 GF optional/ V

2 tablespoons vegetable oil (coconut oil is also good)

50g pak choi, washed and chopped into 3cm pieces

20g, green beans, topped and tailed and cut into thirds

6 asparagus spears, tough ends removed, sliced in half lengthways

A handful of wild garlic, roughly chopped

100ml hot vegetable stock

1 tablespoon light soy sauce (seaweed sauce if gluten free

¼ teaspoon white peppercorns, toasted and ground to a powder

1 teaspoon caster sugar

For the paste:

2 green bird’s-eye chillies

4 garlic cloves, peeled

1 teaspoon krachai wild ginger, peeled and roughly chopped (use regular ginger if you can’t source it

)½ teaspoon coarse sea salt

Light the barbecue. If you have the option, use wood as you want as much smoky flavour as possible to transfer onto the vegetables. Use 1 tablespoon of the oil to lightly coat all the vegetables .When the embers are glowing red, place the vegetables over the heat and turn often until all sides are lightly charred. There is no need to cook the vegetables through as this process is for imparting the smoky flavour, not actually cooking the vegetables.

Next, make the paste. Pound the chillies, garlic and krachai to make a coarse paste, using the sea salt as an abrasive. Heat the remaining oil in a large wok, then add the paste and fry until It begins to turn golden brown, stirring constantly to ensure even cooking. Add the charred vegetables to the wok and toss for about 1 minute on a high heat to ensure that all vegetables are cooked through and softened, but try to leave a little bite.

Add the stock, soy sauce, wild garlic, peppercorns and sugar. Toss through the stir-fry; it should all fuse together to create a delicious, light, smoky broth. Serve the stir-fry immediately. Garnish with crispy garlic and shallots if you have them, for added texture, if you have any left over. Great served as a side or with steamed jasmine rice as a main.