Wild garlic (Allium ursinum AKA bear’s garlic, ramsons or Bärlauch in German) is a wonderful chive cousin that we’re lucky to have growing in our courtyard and a bit in our garden too. At Mackenzie’s christening dinner, we were served a wild garlic soup that was just incredible. I vowed after that to never let our Bärlauch go unharvested again. Last year, I still missed it because I didn’t think about it until the wild garlic had bloomed and apparently the leaves get really bitter after that point. Always try to harvest herbs in the morning when it’s cooler and they still have dew on them. This is what I read at least. I rarely make it out to my garden when there’s still dew on the plants but supposedly that is when they are most fragrant and flavorful which is important when you’re going to be preserving the herbs in any way.
The nice thing about growing wild garlic is that it will come back every year, without you doing anything. And each year, it will be a little bit more. In fact, ours has even split off a new baby plant this year…so I’m playing with the idea of eventually moving it so it’s got more space to grow. It likes a moist, woodland-like soil which means I’d have to select a new site carefully.
Please note that wild garlic often looks very similar to Lily of the Valley when it sprouts but Lily of the Valley is poisonous! If you have any doubt about your plant, do not eat it. The easiest way to tell if you have wild garlic or not is just to pick a small bit of leaf and rub it between your fingers. If it smells like garlic, it’s the right thing.
This wild garlic pesto turned out really thick and has a slightly bitter taste on its own. I think that was because I left a few stems in there which may have a different flavor than the leaves. But once you combine it with food, the bitterness quickly disappears and it’s just lip-smackin’ good. Also be aware that I don’t really even like pesto…so for me to say that I thought this stuff was awesome means a lot.
To make wild garlic pesto pasta, we used 2 tablespoons of olive oil, 2 tablespoons of pesto, 3 tablespoons of water you cooked your noodles in, 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese, some salt and a bit of pepper. It was really tasty and a bit like ali olio which we love.
As a thin spread on crackers, it’s perfect just like it is. But I’ve also thought about adding some to quark or thick sour cream to use as a dip on French bread or something similar.
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- 50 g sliced almonds
- 50 g grated Parmesan cheese
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
- 50 g wild garlic leaves
- 45 ml olive oil + extra to cover in the jar
Ingredients
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- In a small pan, gently roast the sliced almonds. Don’t use any cooking oil.
- Add almonds, Parmesan, salt, pepper and wild garlic leaves to a small food processor. Run at a high level until the garlic leaves are finely chopped and combined with the other ingredients. (If you’re doubling this recipe, add the leaves in clumps. So if you double the recipe, add half the leaves first, then the rest in a second batch so everything gets mixed and chopped.)
- Slowly add the olive oil to the mixture and let it combine well after each addition. If your food processor has a whole in the top, you can just very slowly pour in the olive oil as it continues to run.
- Taste and add more salt and pepper if you like…or add it later when you add the pesto to a meal.
- Once everything is combined, scoop the pesto into a small, clean canning jar with a lid. I used a spatula to get everything out of the food processor and into the jar without loss or too much hassle.
- Pour enough olive oil over the pesto in the jar to cover it. Store in your refrigerator up to a few months…if you don’t eat it all by then. When you take some of the pesto out, remember to cover it back up again with olive oil as needed.
