Wild garlic recipes – wild garlic pesto & wild garlic salt

Wild garlic recipes – wild garlic pesto & wild garlic salt
08/04/2020 Anna Sjostrom Walton
We had the fortune of stumbling on this vast field of wild garlic. At home, we made several wild garlic recipes, including wild garlic pesto and wild garlic salt.

Wild garlic recipes – easy, healthy and satisfying

I love spring! Foraging new growth and having fun with wild garlic recipes is a big part of this. You can prepare the leaves in a wild garlic pesto, wild garlic salt, infused olive oil, fold into scones and more. Or just enjoy the vibrant leaves roughly chopped in soups, pasta sauces, egg dishes and more.

 

Wild garlic – a delicious superfood

Wild garlic is a real superfood that’s also a treat for the senses. It’s antibiotic, antibacterial and high in vitamin C, A, iron, copper and more. Wild garlic reduces blood pressure, so can help prevent heart disease and stroke.

Preparing a pesto or salt has the benefit of longevity, treating you to its flavour and health benefits all year round. Here I’ll guide you through two of my favourite recipes.

Note that foraging laws state that you may only pick plants and leaves that grow wild and you may not uproot any plant. Picking must be for your own use, not commercial. Learn the foraging law here on British Food. It's best to pick before the white flowers come out, but you can still pick them later too. When picking the leaves, watch out that you don't accidentally pick Lilly of the Valley leaves. It's easy to tell the difference though, as only wild garlic actually smells strongly of garlic.

 

Wild garlic pesto recipe

Wild garlic pesto, simply made with wild garlic leaves, olive oil, a pinch of salt and optional pine nuts or cashew nuts. It's very nice too just roughly chopped rather than blitzed. Store in fridge or freeze it.

To make wild garlic pesto, take roughly equal quantities of leaves and olive oil and pop in a blender with a little salt and pepper. Pine nuts or cashews are a great addition if you have them, and a little squeeze of lemon. Blending it makes for a very strong pesto. A milder version is just to roughly chop the leaves and mix with olive oil. This is delicious spread onto crackers as a snack or hors d’oeuvre.

The pesto stores well in the fridge for a few days. Or if you’ve got lots and want to keep for colder days, make a roll in baking parchment and lay it in the freezer. When the roll is frozen enough to handle, take it out and cut the roll into little slices and separate slightly. Then put it back in the freezer. You can then use bits as and when you need. You could pop the pieces in a bag now if you like.

Wild garlic pesto, frozen in a roll. If you take it out mid freeze, you can cut it into sections so you can get them out easier once frozen. Wild garlic is packed full of nutrients!

 

Wild garlic salt recipe

Wash and pat the wild garlic leaves dry in a towel before blitzing in the food processor, to make wild garlic pesto or wild garlic salt. Wild garlic salt is quick and easy. Just blitz the leaves with 100g salt, then mix with the rest of the salt and leave to dry. Store in a lidded jar. This picture shows the process when the first paste is mixed with the rest of the salt. Wild garlic salt is quick and easy. Just blitz the leaves with 100g salt, then mix with the rest of the salt and leave to dry. Store in a lidded jar.

Another way to preserve the leaves is to make wild garlic salt. The approximate proportions are 100g fresh wild garlic to about 800g salt. For my batch, I used about 650g salt.

Wash and pat the leaves dry, avoiding bringing in the stalks.

Put in a blender (or grind) with 100g salt to make a paste.

Mix the paste with remaining salt and spread out in a thin layer on a baking sheet. Either put this somewhere warm / sunny for 8 hours, or put in an oven on 80 degrees (C) for a coupe of hours.  I kept mine in the oven for 5 hours, taking out occasionally to crumble the salt lumps that formed.

Store the completely dry salt in an air tight jar. There’s no expiry date! This is a great addition sprinkled onto scrambled eggs or added as a seasoning to fish, soups and stews.

 

Wild garlic and cheese scones

My husband pointed out that his friend Molly Midlaine (from @thedarkdarkhouse on Instagram) made some delicious looking wild garlic and cheese scones. She used this recipe from the Farmers Girl Kitchen blog.

Molly's wild garlic and cheese scones. See her house at @thedarkdarkhouse on Instagram.

 

 

Know the foraging code

Note that foraging laws state that you may only pick plants and leaves that grow wild and you may not uproot any plant. Picking must be for your own use, not commercial. Learn the foraging law here on British Food. It’s best to pick before the white flowers come out, but you can still pick them later too. When picking the leaves, watch out that you don’t accidentally pick Lilly of the Valley leaves. It’s easy to tell the difference though, as only wild garlic actually smells strongly of garlic.

 

Foraging bags

Did you know that Chalk & Moss sells perfect foraging bags? Check out these beauties, hand sewn in Bristol. These great bags are regularly featured in the press and customer reviews are consistently 5 stars.

Foraging bag with belt loop and sash. Perfect for collecting wild garlic, elderflower, mushrooms, blackberries and more. 3 colours to choose from. H 24cm W 22cm (flat) D12cm Width at bottom 14cm This one is for you outdoor enthusiasts! This foraging bag comes complete with a belt loop and sash, ready for you to go exploring. Ideal for collecting wild garlic, elderflower, mushrooms, blackberries and more. Or simply use it as an eco zero waste lunch bag! Durable cotton canvas and double seams throughout make the Bric foraging bag reliable and durable. The sturdy webbing straps are adjustable and easily tied to the appropriate size. The adjustable strap is tied around your waste and the bag can be closed with a tie. Simply pop the lining in the washing machine when you’ve finished adventuring! This eco food container is ideal also for bushcraft activities. Collect your finds from nature and store tools while exploring, working or playing in the forest. Conkers, whittling knives and mushroom cleaning tools all have their place with easy access! Seen here is the teal and gorse yellow from the front, tied. This one is for you outdoor enthusiasts! This foraging bag comes complete with a belt loop and sash, ready for you to go exploring. Ideal for collecting wild garlic, elderflower, mushrooms, blackberries and more. Or simply use it as an eco zero waste lunch bag! Durable cotton canvas and double seams throughout make the Bric foraging bag reliable and durable. The sturdy webbing straps are adjustable and easily tied to the appropriate size. Simply pop the lining in the washing machine when you’ve finished adventuring! Hand made in Bristol, where Bric's founder works with Bristol University to develop environmentally advanced materials for their products. Learn more on the About the Designer tab. Dimensions – H 24cm W (flat) 22cm D 12cm (14cm width at bottom) Available in three colours - burnt orange & dusty pink; fern green & gorse yellow; and teal & gorse yellow. Pictured here is the back of the bag, in teal and gorse yellow.

 

More wild garlic recipes

If you’ve found a love of wild garlic, give wild garlic pasta a whirl with this recipe. You’ll make your own fresh pasta! It takes only 15 minutes plus an hour to chill.

Keep in touch!

Have you found a good spot to pick wild garlic? I’d love to hear in the comments how you get on! You can tag me with your photos @chalkandmoss

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