Tom Kitchin: Recipes with garlic GARLIC can bring a wonderful, natural flavour to all manner of dishes. It's a distinguished plant, with many different varieties to be found across the world, and is particularly popular in French cooking. Despite garlic being such a big part of French cooking, it was only when I returned to Scotland after having spent years training in France in some of the world's top restaurants that I discovered how easy it is to pick wild garlic yourself. The ingredient is plentiful here, and the best time of year to find it is from late January to late May. I love to go out foraging for garlic, which can be found growing wild around rivers - even along the Water of Leith, not far from our restaurant. If you're not sure what to look for, wild garlic is often said to resemble lily of the valley plants, but if you still find it hard to spot then you can most definitely seek it out simply from its smell at this time of year. If you're not able to go out foraging yourself or are unsure about where you can it in your area, it's easy to source fresh, flavoursome, local garlic from a number of different Scottish suppliers. The Really Garlicky Company (www.reallygarlicky.co.uk) is a fantastic local producer that provides serious garlic. Based at a farm at the foot of the Cawdor hills, in the Highlands, the firm's garlic is sold in Waitrose and can also be ordered online. The Really Garlicky Company grows, packs and distributes the garlic straight from the farm, so you always know it's truly fresh and traceable. It is the UK's only grower of porcelain garlic too, which is very closely related to wild garlic and so brings a really distinctive flavour to dishes. It is sweeter and doesn't leave such a bitter aftertaste as some types can. If you do find that garlic tastes quite bitter, there are a few kitchen secrets you can use so that the flavour suits your tastes. The key to taking the bitterness out of it is to remove the green sprout - or germ, as it is known - from the core of the garlic, as this is the part that gives off the bitter aftertaste. You can also blanch garlic not just once, but three times, which removes much of the bitterness but also allows you to make a delicious confit or purée. What I love about using the wild garlic we have picked ourselves, or sourced from a top local supplier, is the really fresh, unique and natural flavour it brings to my cooking. The beauty of wild garlic is that it's easier to build up the intensity of its flavour. The trick is to use the leaves of the wild garlic, as the taste is more delicate - often likened to the flavour of chives. The leaves can be eaten raw or lightly cooked. Just wash them well and then blanch them for a few minutes in boiling water. Wild garlic is a glorious ingredient that can be stirred into risottos or omelettes, added to soups or used in sauces to accompany meat and fish. Another great accompaniment to wild garlic is wild fennel, which you will often find growing side by side at this time of year - and they make a delightful natural marriage in a dish. I absolutely love whole cloves of garlic that have been roasted until they become really soft and buttery. At home I enjoy this with good-quality meat or as a compliment to potatoes - so simple yet so incredibly tasty. What's more, you can prepare a number of garlic condiments and store them in your cupboard in jars for the season ahead, or to add to any dish whenever you need to give it some extra natural seasoning. Confit garlic, pickled garlic, puréed garlic and whole roasted cloves can make the most wonderful accompaniments or condiments to almost any spring dish. Even the simplest fresh garlic butter or oil spread onto fresh crusty bread can make the most appealing side dish, snack, lunch or starter. n