Wild garlic
One of the joys of spring! How to use it...
I think wild garlic is one of the joys of spring!
It grows in abundance at this time of year, it is easy to identify and the whole plant is edible, raw, or cooked.
On Sunday, in Wicklow I collected lots of it, I made a few jars of pesto as well as used the leaves as a vegetable with the Mother's Day roast and last night in pasta dishes.
The photo above is of the wild garlic I harvested. To help identify the leaf, crush it in your hand and you should have a strong garlic smell. Here are lots of ideas from
Great British Chefs
My pesto recipe is below. To wilt it, I treat it just like spinach (it is much milder when wilted), wash, drain and place in a dry pan with a lid, stirring occasionally until wilted. You can also mix it with spinach if you like..
To make garlic butter, I simply chop it and mix with softened butter
Fiona's wild garlic pesto
Ingredients
150g wild garlic leaves
50g parmesan or vegetarian alternative, finely grated
½ lemon, zested and a few squeezes of juice
50g cashew nuts , toasted
150ml extra virgin olive oil
Method:
- Wash and spin the leaves
- Using a food processor, add the leaves, nuts and cheese, top with most of the olive oil, season and taste and adjust of necessary.
- Store in a clean jar, topped with oil to prevent the pesto from spoiling.
- Store in the fridge for approx 2-3 weeks
Serving: Serve with pasta, drizzled over roast vegetables or stirred through a risotto.
Variations: You can replace the cashew nuts with pine nuts, sunflower seeds or alternative nuts. You can also replace the oil with rapeseed oil if you like.
