Wild garlic is a forager's delight and one of the best natural ingredients around at this time of year. Unlike the usual variety of garlic, the wild stuff is prized for its leaves rather than the bulb. The flowers are also edible, but are more often used raw in salads.
Rua's annual Wild Garlic Weekend, from April 25 to 27, is an excuse to shout about one of Rua’s favourite ingredients of the year and fill the café menus and deli shelves with produce using this wonderful stuff. As well as wild garlic sausages made to Rua’s recipe by Castlemine Farm, the company will also have delicious wild garlic mayo, pesto, and flavoured butter, as well as wild garlic soda bread available to buy and sample in the delicatessen. Wild garlic and potato soup; fritatta with St Tola's goat's cheese; and wild garlic and free range pork with apricot and wild garlic stuffing are just a few of the specials planned for the cafés over the weekend — I guess they must really love the stuff.
Café Rua in New Antrim Street, Castlebar, is now open until 9pm on Friday nights and there will be a spring cookery demo featuring plenty of wild garlic recipes at the delicatessen in Spencer Street on Thursday April 25.
An evening of wine at Artisan Restaurant
Artisan must be up there as one of the most atmospheric spots in the city. Above the popular Tigh Neachtain’s pub, Artisan’s windows look down on the medieval buildings of Quay Street and Cross Street.
I was invited along to a wine dinner hosted by Antinori and Matt Skeffington, proprietor of Artisan. These sorts of nights are always fun, with the chefs left off the leash of the regular menu to dream up something special. The menu started with a light little dish of balsamic strawberries, wild rocket wrapped in Parma ham, with a very nice glass of prosecco. The next dish and wine were the true stars of the night. Limoncello and rosemary cured salmon was deliciously delicate, with some crispy, salty, capers bursting with flavour, and pickled lemon julienne which was sweet and citrusy. It was a perfectly balanced dish made only better by its matched wine, smooth and balanced Tormaresca, Chardonay Puglia 2012. I will have to find some more of that.
Hereford beef carpaccio came next, with a white balsamic and red pepper sorbet. Quality beef, but the sorbet a little on the sweet side for my taste. A rib eye of veal stuffed with sage, lemon, and venison was carved at the table, a little culinary theatre, and served with pappardelle all'uovo, wild mushroom and marsala cream sauce, although I am pretty sure I detected some tame mushrooms in the mix. This was matched with the best of the reds, a Peppoli, Chianti Classico 2010.
Then came a selection of Italian cheeses with a smashing homemade chutney and biscuits. We stole away before the Sgroppino (an Italian lemon sorbet cocktail ) as it was a school night after all.
With the standard of cooking on that occasion, I would certainly recommend going back to sample the regular spring menu. I especially want to try the ballotine of rabbit and smoked bacon with asparagus and pea mousse. It has a great early bird menu also, with plenty of choice, choosing from dishes as tempting as Pernod and tarragon Atlantic seafood chowder, roasted guinea fowl, and the Artisan dessert palette for just €25. Not really one for the kiddies, Artisan is a grown-ups’ restaurant, it scores highly for charm, cosiness, and of course - the all important food.
Artisan Restaurant, No 2 Quay Street, Galway (above Tigh Neachtain ), phone 091 532655.
