The last wild garlic dish: potato and garlic cakes

I made good use of the bank holiday and picked one last crop of wild garlic. To be honest it was slightly past its best: the flowers are dying back now (or at least they were in this Surrey woodland), which is a sign that it's time to stop picking. The leaves lose their lushness and vibrancy; soon they'll be starting to wilt and turn yellow.

Having picked some just in time, I put it to good use by making a dish I'd never cooked before - wild garlic potato cakes. You could also call it wild garlic bubble-and-squeak. Mine is a healthy version without any butter or cream, though I suppose you could add butter to the mash if you really wanted to. I think the pungent garlic has flavour enough.

It's a really simple dish - there aren't many ingredients listed below, and several of those are optional. But I think it's all the better for that. I served it topped with a poached egg (the eggs, incidentally, came from a stall outside someone's house, not many miles from where I'd picked the garlic) but some melted blue cheese or even a strong Cheddar would do the job nicely too.

Serves two

Ingredients
500g / 1lb 2 oz floury potatoes, such as King Edward
2 good handfuls wild garlic
Freshly grated nutmeg (optional)
2 eggs, to serve (or 25g/ 1oz cheese if you prefer, in which case go for a blue cheese such as Stilton, or a strong Cheddar)
Wild garlic flowers, to garnish (optional)

Method
Peel the potatoes, cut into large pieces and boil until they are thoroughly cooked. While this is happening, wash and chop the wild garlic. Throw the leaves into a pan with nothing except the water that is clinging to them, cover and cook on a medium-high heat until the leaves are thoroughly wilted.

Drain and mash the potatoes. Mix in the cooked garlic, stirring well until thoroughly mixed. Season with salt and pepper and a little freshly grated nutmeg, if you have it.

Shape into large cakes. I usually serve them just like this but, if you want them to be browned and crispy like bubble and squeak, you can fry them in some vegetable oil. Or you can avoid getting half the potato stuck to your frying pan by putting them on a heat-proof plate under a hot grill until browned on top. If you want them browned on both sides, turn over and repeat.

Serve with a poached egg, or top with the sliced cheese and melt the cheese briefly under the grill.