Welcome to the summary page for FabulousFusionFood's Wild Food guide to Three-cornered Leeks along with all the Three-cornered Leeks containing recipes presented on this site, with 12 recipes in total.

This is a continuation of an entire series of pages that will, I hope, allow my visitors to better navigate this site. As well as displaying recipes by name, country and region of origin I am now planning a whole series of pages where recipes can be located by meal type and main ingredient. This page gives a listing of all the Cornish recipes added to this site.

These recipes, all contain Three-cornered Leeks as a major wild food ingredient.

Three-cornered leek Allium triquetrum (also known as Angled Onion, Onionweed, Snowbells, White Bluebells and Wild Garlic) is a bulbous, perennial, flowering plant of the Allium genus of the Amaryllidaceae (Amaryllis) family.

Originally native to the mediterranean basin (south-western Europe, north-western Africa, Madeira and the Canary Islands) it has been introduced and naturalized in the British Isles, New Zealand, Turkey, Australia, California, Oregon, and South America. Its natural habitat include meadows, woodland clearings, river banks and roadside verges.

Its habitat and flowering period overlaps with that of bluebells (which it superficially resembles) and the plant is sometimes called 'white bluebell', though its unmistakable garlic scent clearly sets it apart.

Allium triquetrum ranges from 17 to 59cm in height and typically grows in clumps or large drifts. It can be an invasive species and is one of the few wild species where the consumption of the entire plant is encouraged. The stems produce projections and are concavely triangular in cross section (hence the common name of three-cornered leek and the Latin species name of tirquetrum. Each stem produces an umbel inflorescence of 4–19 flowers between January and May (depending on local climactic conditions). The tepals are 10–18 millimetres (0.4–0.7 in) long and white, but with a strong green line in the centre, which is characteristic of the flowers. Each plant has 2–3 narrow, linear leaves, each up to 15cm (6 in) long.

When crushed the leaves have a distinct onion smell. The leaves become fibrous when older and to be eaten they are best very finely shredded before use.

It's not only the leaves that are edible... the entire plant can be consumed. The flowers can be battered and fried or used in salads and garnish. The leaves can be used fresh or fried and make an excellent pesto. The bulbs (typically small, up to 2cm in diameter) are edible both raw and cooked and can be pickled just like onions. Bulbs are typically harvested in early summer (late June and early July) when the greens die back. The fibrous outer skin needs to be rubbed off before use and they will keep for up to 6 months if harvested at this time of year.

The leaves are available from late autumn to early spring and make an excellent garlic substitute. They can be used in any recipe calling for wild garlic or ramsons (bear garlic) and can be substituted for spring onionsspring onions (scallions).

The leaves have a milder and more delicate flavour than onions and the flowers are juicy with a mild garlicky flavour. Stems and bulbs when harvested in autumn or spring can be used as a leek or spring onion substitute.

The flowers are juicy and have a mild garlic flavour. These make an excellent garnish for salads or soups.

Interestingly the juice of the plant has been used as a moth repellent and the entire plant has insect repellent properties.

References:

[1]. David Evans Notes from field observations, tastings and cookery experiments.
[2]. Huxley, A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992
[3]. Tanaka, T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World.
[4]. Lim T.K. Edible Medicinal And Non-Medicinal Plants, Vols 1–8.
[5]. Thomas, G. S. Perennial Garden Plants
[6]. Milner, E. Trees of Britain and Ireland
[7]. Rose, F. & O'Reilly, C. The Wild Flower Key (Revised Edition) – How to identify wild plants, trees and shrubs in Britain and Ireland
[8]. Streeter, D. & Garrard, I. The Wild Flowers of the British Isles
[9]. Clapham, A.R.; Tutin, T.G. & Moore, D.M. Flora of the British Isles
[10]. Phillips, R. Mushrooms
[10]. Phillips, R. Mushrooms
[11]. Jordan, P. & Wheeler, S. The Complete Book of Mushrooms: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Edible Mushrooms
[12]. Bunker, F.; Brodie, J.A.; Maggs, C.A. & Bunker, A. Seaweeds of Britain and Ireland.
[13]. Facciola, S. Cornucopia — A Source Book of Edible Plants