Garlic Chives

Allium tuberosum

Height:
Up to 30cm (12in)
Suitable for:
Sunny position with rich, moist soil. Pots and tubs
Summary:
Garlic chives are perennial with long and flat, slightly fleshy leaves and a mild garlic flavour. Pretty white star shaped flowers arise in late summer.
Garlic Chives: Allium tuberosum

Garlic chives are similar to chives but with an aromatic garlic flavour and a juicy texture, which makes them very tasty when added to salads. They are slower than chives to start growing in the spring but come into their own in the late summer and autumn when chives start to look a little floppy and tired after the summer heat. They crop well late into the autumn as the fleshy leaves are more robust.

Garlic chives are particularly good in salads and mixed with soft cheese. They are extensively used in Chinese cuisine in rice dishes, stirfries and with pork.

Warm Thai salad

  • 1 tbs sesame oil
  • 2 red chillies – seeded and chopped
  • 500 g white cabbage – finely shredded
  • 200 g baby sweet corn – sliced into rings
  • 50 g garlic chives – snipped
  • 1 tbs soy sauce
  • juice of a lime
  • salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat the oil in a wok or large sauté pan and stir fry the chillies for a few seconds. Add the cabbage and sweetcorn and stir fry on a high heat for 2 minutes more.

Remove the pan from the heat and add the garlic chives, soy sauce and the lime juice.

Season to taste and serve warm with pork or chicken dishes or on its own as a light lunch.