having used half my wild garlic to make a simple spaghetti dish, i fancied trying something a little more complex. although having said that, this really isn’t a difficult recipe.

it is, however, a real “fridgebottom” meal – i’d not been shopping for over a week and the only vegetables in the house were a couple of courgettes and some onions! the salmon was rescued from a corner in the freezer. however, thanks to the wild garlic that i had left we ended up with a really special meal.

the pilaf was brilliant – despite the lack of dairy, somehow it tasted quite rich and creamy and the mild garlic flavour complemented the sweetness of the slow-cooked courgette and onion really well.

salmon with wild garlic and courgette pilaf (serves 2)

2 pieces of salmon

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 onion, diced

1 teaspoon fresh oregano leaves plus extra

1 large courgette, diced

200g basmati rice

400ml vegetable stock, hot

a large handful of wild garlic, roughly chopped

sprinkle some oregano leaves and freshly ground black pepper onto the salmon. set aside.

heat the olive oil in a large pan and fry the onion and oregano until the onion begins to soften. add the courgette and stir regularly while this cooks. don’t let the heat get too high - the onions will begin to caramelise but the courgette should not go too soft.

put the basmati rice and stock into a saucepan, bring to the boil, cover and simmer until all the liquid is absorbed. this should take about 10 minutes which is the same time it takes for the onion and courgette mix to finish cooking. take the cooked rice off the heat and stir in the wild garlic and courgettes. cover and leave to one side while you fry your salmon - mine took less than 5 minutes.

to serve, put the pilaf on a plate and top with the salmon. i added a wild garlic flower for garnish!