Making wild garlic pesto couldn't be easier and it's the perfect use for the deliciously fragrant plant that is so abundant in the British countryside in the spring time. This recipe is suitable for vegans.
Have you ever walked down a country lane and smelt the heady scent of wild garlic?
Living in the centre of London this doesn't happened to me very often! However, I vividly remember driving down the lane to Coombe Mill Farm in Cornwall whilst on holiday there with the windows open and the smell suddenly filling the car.
I don't think I knew what the smell, or the luscious looking green leaves were at first. It was only when I later signed up to a local veg bag scheme and started to get wild garlic that I made the link.
What is wild garlic?
Wild garlic is a plant that grows abundantly in the British countryside. It's also known as ramsons, buckrams and bear's garlic - amongst other names.
It has a short season here in the UK. The plant flowers in spring and fills the air with a strong garlic scent.
It really is truly delicious but sometimes it's hard to know what to do with it.
If you're wondering what to do with your wild garlic leaves then making it into a simple pesto is a great and healthy way to use it. It's also a convenient way to get suspicious children to try it.
Pesto can be made with many different veg
Pesto must be the perfect hidden veg recipe - as long as your kids like it of course. I've used all kinds of different things in pesto, including:
They've gobbled them all up, sometimes not even noticing that they're not eating the classic basil pesto.
Harvesting some wild garlic with your children would also be a brilliant way to encourage them to try it should you live near some. Be sure you know what to look for if you do as its leaves are similar to several poisonous plants.
How to serve your wild garlic pesto
The most common way for pesto to be served is to stir it through cooked pasta. I haven't met a pasta shape that doesn't work well with pesto so use whatever you have.
This pesto is made with pine nuts so it can be sent in to my son's school in his lunchbox. His school is nut free and most shop bought pesto is made with cashews. Pine nuts are safe for most people with a nut allergy.
There are plenty of other ways you can enjoy this pesto however. Try it stirred through new potatoes, with cheese on toast or dolloped on pizza. What's your favourite way to eat pesto?
How to make wild garlic pesto
For full recipe, ingredients and quantities go to the printable recipe card at the end of this post.
You will need a food processor for this recipe.
- Get your ingredients ready. You will need around 50g wild garlic, 20g sunflower seeds, 2 tablespoon olive oil, 2 tablespoon nutritional yeast and a little salt and pepper.
- Place them all in a food processor.
- Pulse until broken down. You may need to scrape the sides down.
If you have made this recipe I would love it if you’d leave a comment and rating below. Thank you!
Please do not reproduce this recipe without permission.
Wild garlic pesto
Ingredients
- 50 g wild garlic washed
- 20 g sunflower seeds or pine nuts or cashew nuts
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast or vegan parmesan cheese alternative
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
- Place 50g wild garlic, 20g sunflower seeds, 2 tablespoon olive oil, 2 tablespoon nutritional yeast and a little salt and pepper together in a food processor and process well. You might need to scrape down the sides a few times.
- Add extra olive oil if needed until you have the consistency you like. Taste and add salt and pepper if needed.
- Feel free to double or even triple the quantities if you have more leaves available. You can store it in the fridge for a few days in a jar - top it up with olive oil to cover the pesto and stir well before serving.
- Serve with pasta, broccoli or other greens.
Notes
- You will need a blender or food processor to make this recipe.
- I have not included nutritional values for this recipe because I couldn't find accurate information about wild garlic.
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Hayley
Love homemade pesto, delicious 🙂 Thanks for linking up #CookBlogShare
Mandy Mazliah
I so prefer it to shop bought - thanks for commenting x
Kirsty Hijacked By Twins
This sounds so good Mandy. My lot love garlic so this would be a huge hit here! This will be going on my to try list x #CookBlogShare
Mandy Mazliah
Thanks Kirsty, hope you all enjoy it!
Corina
This sounds amazing! I love wild garlic and wish I knew where to pick it locally. I'm sure there's a lot of it about I just have absolutely no idea about foraging.
Mandy Mazliah
No, it's not my area of expertise either! But you really can't miss the smell so I don't think you'd miss it if there was some near you.
Coombe Mill
Yay, that very smell is just beginning to come through now, the hedgerows are filling and I keep cutting a handful each night to add to my cooking. We have another couple of months then it will be over for another year, for me the wild garlic and bluebells mean spring is really here on the farm. A lovely simple recipe you have here, full of taste and easy to make.
Mandy Mazliah
It's such a lovely sign of spring. I think it was when we visited in June that we passed it on the way to the farm so it must have been a bit late that year. Thanks for commenting.
Sarah James
I love the smell of wild garlic, my sons live in Guernsey where it grows like a weed and it's called Stinking Onions. It's not very popular because it's very invasive and it's killing off the bluebells. Having said that when I go in a couple of weeks I'll be glad it's there so I can try your pesto recipe.
Mandy Mazliah
Such a shame that something so delicious can be so damaging to other plants 🙁
Charlotte Oates
I don't think I've ever walked down a lane a smelt wild garlic, I either need to choose some different lanes or hone my sense of smell! I love the idea of making pesto with it - delicious 🙂
Mandy Mazliah
There aren't any lanes where I live! But I remember it so vividly I'm sure you'd notice if it was growing near you!