Garlic butter

Mark's garlic butter on a steak (Jason Lowe)

This is a handy butter to keep in a roll in the freezer. Just slice up from frozen, and serve on grilled meats and shellfish, or use it to finish a pasta or risotto. Add some finely-chopped fresh chillies for a bit of a kick.

500g salted butter, softened
200-250g wild garlic leaves, washed and dried
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Put 150g of the butter in a saucepan over a very low heat until it's just melted, but not hot. Put the wild garlic in a liquidiser or food processor with the melted butter and blend until the garlic is a pretty smooth paste. You may need to scrape the sides of the machine every so often with a spatula to get the leaves well blended.

Transfer to a bowl and mix well with the rest of the softened butter and season to taste. Lay some clingfilm out on a work surface and spoon half the butter mixture evenly in a line down the edge of clingfilm nearest you, leaving 4-5cm at each end. Roll the clingfilm around the butter until it is encased in about 5 layers.

Then hold each end and twist in opposite directions until the butter has tightened up and formed a cylinder shape. Place in the freezer for up to 3-6 months. When required, just cut the butter into ½cm-thick slices.