Field Garlic Naan: A No-Knead Feral Recipe Inspired by Classic Butter Naan
Photography by Marie Viljoen. Everyone needs field garlic naan, hot off the griddle, drenched in fragrant butter. Here is an easy, no-knead field garlic naan recipe, cooked on the stovetop in your favorite cast iron skillet. Field garlic is in season from fall through winter and into mid-spring. For more about field garlic, also known as lawn chives, crow garlic, and onion grass, read: Field Garlic: A Sustainable Alternative to Ramps. Field garlic looks like chives but tastes much more…garlicky. The USDA classifies field garlic as a noxious weed, but to the locally-attuned eater, it is a culinary blessing, especially when other green herbs are not naturally in season. My naan recipe calls for some yogurt, which adds body, but not heaviness, to the flatbreads. After a first rise, the dough is divided into 6-8 balls. The balls are ready to rise, on a floured tray. After they increase in volume by just 50% they are ready to be flattened and shaped. It is essential to season your cast iron pan, so that the naans cook dry. Fat naans (if you want smaller breads, divide your dough into 8 pieces, not 6). Naans in cross section: cooked in 3 minutes. A trayful of hot field garlic naan, ready to be devoured. A platter of field garlic naan could stand alone as a meal, but the breads are an exceptional partner for eggs... ...soups, beans stews, dhals, curries and curry riffs, like butter chicken. Make a well in the flour, and pour the wet mixture into it. ), for about 1 ½ hours, until it has doubled in size. In a small pot melt your butter with half the field garlic over low heat. To shape the naan: I like elongated naan. The top will develop bubbles, and the underside, when you flip it, should be charred in spots. When all the breads are ready, pour any residual butter over the top and add a flurry of the remaining field garlic.