Ingredients

• 500g/1lb 2oz onions
• thinly sliced
• 400g/14oz wild garlic
• plus 25g/1oz wild garlic stalks
• 1 fresh thyme sprig
• 50g/1¾oz garlic bulbs
• unpeeled
• 50g/1¾oz butter
• 150g/5½oz potatoes
• peeled and very thinly sliced
• 25g/1oz double cream
• salt
• olive oil
• for frying
• 50g/1¾oz smoked pancetta lardons
• 1 small waxy potato
• cut into 1cm/½in cubes
• skin roughly chopped
• 1 fresh thyme sprig
• 1 garlic clove
• crushed
• knob of butter
• 50ml/2fl oz sour cream
• wild garlic oil
• optional
• handful small wild garlic leaves

Directions

• Put 400g/14oz onions
• 400g/14oz wild garlic and the thyme in a large saucepan with 800ml/1½ pints water and bring to the boil. Simmer for 30 minutes
• remove from the heat
• cover and leave to infuse for 2 hours.
• Preheat the oven to 180C/160C Fan/Gas 4. Wrap the garlic bulbs in kitchen foil and roast for 30–40 minutes
• or until softened. When cool enough to handle
• squeeze the garlic flesh into a bowl and set aside.
• For the bacon-fat potatoes
• heat 2 teaspoons olive oil in a frying pan over a medium heat. Fry the pancetta
• potato cubes
• thyme and crushed garlic for 3–6 minutes
• or until golden-brown and crispy. Remove from the heat
• drain on kitchen paper and set aside.
• For the crispy skin
• melt the butter in a small saucepan and pour over the potato skin. Season with salt. Fill a small heavy-bottomed saucepan one-third full with oil. Heat to 180C (a cube of bread should turn brown in 1 minute when dropped in.) CAUTION: Hot oil can be dangerous. Do not leave unattended. Deep-fry the potato skin until crispy
• then remove with a slotted spoon and leave to drain on kitchen paper.
• For the soup
• melt the butter in a large saucepan over a low heat and cook the remaining 100g/3½oz onions for 5 minutes
• or until softened. Add the potato slices and roasted garlic and cook without colouring until the potato is soft.
• In a separate saucepan
• heat the double cream with the wild garlic stock
• then pour onto the onion and sliced potato mixture. Add the remaining wild garlic stalks and bring to the boil. Blend the soup in a blender
• strain through a sieve back into the pan and season with salt.
• To serve
• place a spoonful of sour cream into the middle of each of four shallow bowls
• top with wild garlic oil
• if using
• then the bacon-fat potatoes
• crispy skins and wild garlic leaves and drizzle the soup around the edges of the bowls.