It's wild garlic season!! These tasty plants are in season from March to June and the edible leaves and flowers add a gentle garlic flavour to soups, salads, pasta and pesto!
It's a wonderful plant to try your hand at foraging because this perennial can easily be identified and grows in abundance so is generally acceptable to pick a small amount responsibly. Wild Garlic prefers to grow in shady, damp conditions in woodlands and forests. The long and pointed green leaves grow in dense clumps, carpeting the woodland floor and around mid-spring they begin to bloom delicate white flowers. The flowers are edible and look pretty when added to dishes. Always make sure you can positively identify any plant before you pick it and never eat any plant if your unsure. Only gather small amounts, leaving plenty for wildlife and other foragers, avoid damaging or disturbing the area and leave it as you find it apart from a handful of leaves.
Time to prepare: 15 minutes
You will need...
55g wild garlic leaves (about 9 large leaves)
55g kale, blanched
30g walnuts 14 tbsp water
3-4 tbsp nutritional yeast 2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Pinch of salt (optional)
How to create...
Chop or tear the kale and place into a pan with boiling water. Cook until the leaves start to wilt (usually, 2-3 minutes).
Wash the wild garlic and roughly chop or tear the leaves.
Whizz everything together in a food processor until it forms a paste. This will be slightly chunkier than a normal pesto due to the quality of kale. Taste and add seasoning.
You may wish to add more lemon juice or olive oil to suit your taste buds.
This pesto can be enjoyed straight away or stored in a glass jar the fridge for up to a week. I like to keep my wild garlic fresh by placing them in a jar of water like a bunch of flowers.
A little story behind why I made this recipe... A beautiful friend and I went exploring in the woods in search for some wild garlic, having had lots of conversations about how amazing mother nature is and how food is wonderful at helping our bodies heal. We know garlic for it's antibacterial, antibiotic and possible antiviral benefits and that it contains vitamins and minerals like C, A, iron, calcium, phosphorus, sodium and copper and the lure of these benefits made finding them even more exciting. The things that we need to nurture ourselves is all around us and has always been. The process of finding these plants, carefully foraging a handful of leaves from separate plants and noticing the woodland life around us was entirely grounding. Something so very needed at the moment with so much more conscious uncertainty in the air. Back in my kitchen I wanted to see how the leaves flavours emerged in different quantities and recipes. This certainly hit the very garlic button. Wild garlic can be eaten raw or lightly cooked and begin to toughen and have a slightly bitter taste when the flowers arrive so it is time to forage. I would love to know if you make the pesto and what you enjoyed putting it on :) Happy creating, Emmy x
p.s. you might know someone else who might enjoy this recipe so please share the love with them.
This recipe is created with love, gluten free, dairy free, refined sugar free, plant based and is full of wholesome goodness. All the ingredients I use I try to use organic, local and fair trade where possible and necessary but it’s up to you to choose what you want to use.
Did you know...
Garlic is known to have a soothing affect on the heart [1]
The wilder form of garlic can help rebalance the gut flora, helping to sooth bloating, cramping, inflammation and constipation due to it's antibacterial and anti-fungal compounds [2]
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