Name: WILD GARLIC PESTO
Prep time: 10 min
Total time: 10 min
Ingredients: 50 g pine nuts; 100 g wild garlic leaves (stems removed & washed thoroughly); 50 g parmesan or plant-based alternative (grated); juice of 1/2 lemon; 100-150 ml extra virgin olive oil; salt & freshly ground black pepper

WILD GARLIC FORAGING 101

Wild garlic is one of my most favourite ingredients. Maybe because it feels a bit elusive – you have to ask around for secret spots, and when you go looking for it, you never seem to be able to find it. So here are my top tips, for wild garlic beginners:

FINDING WILD GARLIC

Wild garlic mostly grows in damp, wooded areas and shaded hedgerows. Ask around friends or post on forums in your area to see if anyone knows any good spots to find it. It’s best to catch it between March-early May as the plant may become slightly bitter after that.

IDENTIFYING WILD GARLIC

Carry a picture on your phone with you to help you remember what it looks like. Several plants look similar to wild garlic, but the one easily identifiable difference is that wild garlic smells strongly of garlic. Between April-June, it grows small, white six-petalled flowers, which are also edible. Remember, if you aren’t 100% sure and you can’t smell garlic, don’t pick it. Try to pick the leaves away from the beaten track, and avoid any situated right by a road.

PREPARING WILD GARLIC

Make sure to wash the wild garlic leaves thoroughly 2-3 times, to ensure they are clean. From here you can use them raw, or blanch them in boiling water for 10 seconds or so, which will help preserve their colour and slightly soften their flavour. The flowers just need a good wash and can be used as a pretty garnish.

WILD GARLIC PESTO

Wild garlic grows in abundance between the end of winter, until mid-spring. Making a pesto with its beautiful fragrant leaves is a brilliant way to preserve it. The pesto can be frozen and defrosted to use however you wish – stirred through soups or pasta, slathered over bread, or beaten into softened butter.

Prep Time 10 minutes

Total Time 10 minutes

Servings 1 jar

Ingredients

50 g pine nuts
100 g wild garlic leaves stems removed & washed thoroughly
50 g parmesan or plant-based alternative grated
juice of 1/2 lemon
100-150 ml extra virgin olive oil
salt & freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

Heat a dry frying pan over a low heat and add the pine nuts. Toast for 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently, until lightly golden.
Combine the toasted pine nuts, wild garlic leaves, parmesan, lemon juice and a generous pinch of salt and black pepper in a food processor. Blend, adding the olive oil in a slow drizzle through the hole in the top, until almost smooth (you want it to retain a little bit of texture). Taste and adjust the seasoning, if needed.
Transfer into an airtight container and refrigerate until ready to use however you wish.

Love pesto recipes? Try my Kale Pesto next!