"Eat neither garlic, nor onions, for thy smell will betray the peasant in thee" Don Quixote admonishes his squire, Sancho Panza. Garlic, or Allium sativum, a member of the lily family, has been cultivated for thousands of years. Pliny the Elder praised it as a remedy for a host of ailments from asthma to insanity - though he also warned excessive use caused flatulence. French biologist Louis Pasteur praised garlic's qualities as a disinfectant and recent studies have backed long-held beliefs that compounds in garlic reduce cholesterol levels in the arteries and thus protect the heart. At one time despised in some countries as a poor man's spice, garlic is now an indispensable ingredient in so many cuisines. <br /> <br /> <br />The arrival of the new season garlic, in its wet (green) and wild (also known as Ramps in the US and Ramsons in the UK) forms, is a brief spring treat. <br /> <br />I love to use wild garlic in a quick and simple pasta dish and this recipe is so easy that you can take the time to make your own fresh pasta for it. Bought pasta is fine but fresh, not dried, works best.

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