I`m sure that many of you have been through the countryside at this time of year wondering what that delightfully sweet scented smell  that dominates the woodland air  was. The aroma is actually Wild Garlic  ( Ramsons )  flowers coming into full bloom and a sure fire signal that summer has arrived.

Wild Garlic grows in its masses all over Cumbria and every part of this plant is edible , the bulb , leaves , stems and flowers have endless uses in the kitchen. Normally i would just blitz everything together to make a Wild Garlic and Almond Pesto sauce for Pasta or the most amazing Garlic butter you`ll ever eat.  ( 2 packs of good Butter , Sea Salt , Black Pepper and a bunch of shredded  wild Garlic leaves.) I`ve decided to do something a little different with it this time and and add it to some buttery mashed potato to make a ” Pulled Rabbit ” Sundae…. yes , in an ice cream dish ,  i do get dafter as the years go on.

For the  extemely unhealthy mash simply boil Maris piper potatoes in water until cooked. Drain them , mash them finely or pass through a potato ricer. Once done then just add butter to the ratio of  60% potato to 40% Butter…..yes , that`s not a typo…you want good mash don`t you ? Split the potato into two containers , one for the Butter mash and the other for the wild garlic mash.  Blitz the wild garlic leaves in a food processor and then add the puree to one of the mashed potato portions .Add as little or as much puree to the mash to your own taste ,depending how much you like the flavour of Garlic.

To make the “pulled”  Rabbit i used a fully jointed Rabbit . I added the herb and spice mixture ( below )  and then let everything cook away  long and slow ( 8 hours ) in a slow cooker until the meat simply lifted off the bones.

Once cooked then it was simply a case of removing the bones and shredding the Rabbit with 2 forks.Take a careful look out for any small bones at this stage.

I passed the cooking liquid through a fine sieve and then brought the cooking liquor to a fast boil. It was then boiled away and reduced down  into a thick rich glaze to mix into the Rabbit meat.

I would guess at maybe 4/6 tablespoons will be perfect to make the pulled Rabbit meat into a deliciously rich concoction.

To make the Crispy Chicken skin wafers youll need to take the skin off a few chicken portions and flatten it out on a non stick oven tray. Season the skin with sea salt and black pepper and a few sweet chilli flakes. Top the skins with another non stick tray and bake in a 160degree oven for about 25-30 minutes until crispy and golden. Remove the skins with a palette knife and cut into the wafer shapes on a piece of absorbent  kitchen paper. These skins are so bloomin unhealthy but boy do they  hit the sweet spot . You`ll have to give this one a go.

Everything was then layered into some posh  ice cream sundae glasses which i bought off ebay. I  dried a few wild Garlic leaves and flowers between absorbent kitchen roll in the Microwave for 60 seconds to make the garnish.

         This recipe will also make quite a lot of Canape / Starter / Appetiser size portions.

If there`s any  mixture left over then simply pile a spoonful of the Garlic mash on to a soft bread bun , top it with some of the pulled Rabbit  and a little Smokey BBQ sauce and  enjoy one of the most delicious and unhealthy  sarnies you`re ever going to eat.

 This is what you`ll need to add to the Rabbit cooking pot.

2 Tbsp Honey
2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 Tsp Smoked Paprika
2 Tbsp Olive oil.
1 Garlic bulb ( crushed  )
A small bunch of fresh Thyme
A small bunch of fresh Rosemary.
2 large pinches of Sea Salt.
A good grind of Black Pepper
 330 ml  Cumberland  ( or local )  Ale
1 Tbsp Dark Brown Sugar
1/2 Tsp Cumin
1/2 Tsp Cinnamon
A  good squirt  of BBQ Sauce or ”  liquid smoke “