Christopher's Platzl tip: wild garlic is back!

Spring means wild garlic season! What fascinates you about this ingredient - its taste, tradition or perhaps its versatility in the kitchen?

I am a big fan of wild garlic! I'm always happy when I go for a walk in the forest and suddenly smell wild garlic. Only then does spring really begin for me. It's the variety of uses that make wild garlic so special: whether as pesto, oil, wild garlic butter or in the marinade for a cooked ham - in spring, almost any dish can be refined with wild garlic. It goes particularly well with asparagus dishes, pasta and meat.

Is there a dish with wild garlic that you would particularly recommend in the Ayinger restaurants?

I can definitely recommend our gnocchi with green and white asparagus, wild garlic pesto, cherry tomatoes, pine nuts and peas. Perfect for a warm spring evening on our terrace at the Ayinger am Platzl or in the garden of the Ayinger in der Au! But this is now only available on our seasonal asparagus menu from mid-April to mid-June ;)

Bavarian cuisine relies heavily on tradition. How is wild garlic incorporated here, perhaps even reinterpreted?

Bavarian cuisine creatively integrates wild garlic into traditional dishes without losing its character. One example of this is wild garlic bread dumplings. Wild garlic is also often used in light soups to add a fresh touch. Wild garlic pesto is a modern preparation that can be wonderfully combined with classic Bavarian dishes - for example as a topping for spaetzle or roasted meat.

Is there a simple recipe or a special combination that you can recommend?

Making wild garlic butter is a great way to incorporate the herb into Bavarian cuisine. This flavored butter goes perfectly with traditional breads or as an addition to grilled meat.

Recipe for wild garlic butter with roasted bacon

Ingredients:

• 250 g soft butter
• 100 g wild garlic, washed and finely chopped
• 100 g bacon, diced
• 1 tsp lemon zest
• 2 tsp mustard
• salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

1. Fry the diced bacon in a pan until crispy.
2. Wash the wild garlic thoroughly, dry, finely chop and sauté briefly with the bacon. Then leave to cool slightly.
3. Place the softened butter in a bowl and stir until fluffy. Add the contents of the pan, lemon zest and mustard.
4. Mix everything thoroughly and season to taste with salt and pepper. If you like, you can add grated Parmesan cheese or chili flakes.
5. Place the butter mixture on cling film, shape into a roll and chill in the fridge for at least 3 hours or overnight.

That sounds very tasty! Do you know any nice places around Munich where you can collect wild garlic in nature - and where you could end the day with a good meal afterwards?

I know some good places for wild garlic in the forests of my home in southern Baden. As I've only been living in Munich since October, I haven't had the opportunity to discover my own spots here yet - but I'm already looking forward to searching! There are plenty of good food spots in Munich - but I've heard that the English Garden and the Isar floodplains are great for collecting herbs. Especially now in spring, when it's getting warmer again, it's great fun to put together a picnic basket and sit by the Isar with a beer or enjoy the sunshine in the garden of the Ayinger in der Au.

Thank you, dear Christopher - we can officially ring in spring with wild garlic!