Wild garlic pesto is a delightful and vibrant pesto which can be used in a pasta dish or as a spread. Honestly, I prefer to just eat it by itself! A more creative way to cook with wild garlic pesto is to use it as a flavour enhancer when making a soup.

If you've ever made a wild garlic recipe, you know exactly just how special this ingredient is. This pesto recipe is really simple to make and will only take you a matter of minutes. Enjoy and let me know how it goes.

Products You Need For This Recipe

Here is a list of things you'll need in order to make a wild garlic pesto dish.

blender / food processor - honestly, I can't imagine how people used to make a pesto in ancient times without a blender. Such a handy tool in the kitchen. I guess they used a simple pestle and mortar.
pine nuts - these are essential for any pesto recipe. If you haven't got them, then go for these substitutes instead.
cheese grater - in case you would like to add more Parmesan cheese as a topping on your chicken pesto pasta.
olive oil - the higher the quality of your olive oil, the better pesto recipes will be. That's a fact! A high-quality olive oil can also be used as a topping on a pasta dish to add extra flavour.
pasta serving set - this pasta set will change your life in how you serve pasta at the dining table. If there is one thing I hate, it's serving spaghetti. With these tools, it's never been easier.

Which are the products you go for when you are making homemade pesto recipes from scratch? Let me know in the comments section below.

what is wild garlic?

Wild garlic is not like ordinary garlic that we are used to cooking with on a daily basis. No, this is a different variety. In fact, it is a perennial plant which grows wild. Many people actually spot wild garlic while they are on a hike in the forest. Wild garlic loves damp climates, and forests or swamps have the perfect growing conditions. It's commonly found growing wild in Britain and other parts of Europe.

Its botanical name is Allium ursinum. However, you might also know it by its common names such as: devil's garlic, bear's garlic, buckrams, gypsy's onion, ramsons or stinking Jenny.

It is famous for its distinct flavour of garlic, although it is much more subtle.

Wild garlic has a bulb, leaves and flowers. The wild garlic leaves are long and green. All three parts are edible. Nevertheless, the most sought-after part of the plant are the wild garlic leaves. The wild garlic leaves are responsible for giving the garlic flavour and green colour to the pesto.

how to find wild garlic

Wild garlic can be found in damp parts of a forest from late spring till the summer. You can easily tell if you've got wild garlic in front of you. Just smell it up close.

Take the wild garlic leaves, squeeze them and pay attention to the smell. Does the smell resemble garlic? If the answer to this question is yes, then congratulations! You found wild garlic.

is wild garlic good for you?

It has tons of health benefits. For instance, it has anti-inflammatory properties and contains lots of anti-oxidants. It is excellent for digestion and is also known to be able to reduce blood pressure. In essence, it is a vasodilator, so people who have problems with blood pressure should eat wild garlic leaves more often!

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how to cook with wild garlic

Wild garlic is great to cook with because it's an excellent addition to bland foods like cream cheese or vegetable soups. Treat this ingredient as you would chives.

First and foremost, you can chop it up and use it as a topping for a vegetable soup, such as butternut squash soup.
You can make wild garlic soup with the big stash of leaves.
Chop it up and enhance the flavour of a spread. The best one, when the leaves make the most impact, is with cream cheese. Add a hint of lemon juice and you've got a rocking spread.
Toss it in with roast potatoes or mashed potatoes. Serve it alongside a meaty main course.
Above all, you can make a fantastic wild garlic pesto.

recipe for wild garlic pesto

A wild garlic pesto calls for a handful of ingredients. These ingredients include pine nuts, lemon juice, leaves, salt, olive oil and Parmesan cheese. Once you place all of the elements into the blender, you are just one push of a button away from creating a delicious recipe. Sometimes simple food is the best, as you can alter the ingredients to your liking and make many variations.

For instance, you can also make this recipe with cashews, peanuts or almonds. All three nuts work very well. Hence, by altering one element, you are left with a completely different type of pesto.

If you have consistency issues, then either add more nuts or add one more tablespoon of olive oil. Don't forget the salt. The salt is equally important, especially since the nuts are not salted. If you use salted peanuts instead, you don't need to add salt. Just go heavy on the leaves.

If you would like to make more homemade pesto recipes, then take a look below:

dairy free pesto - fantastic alternative for those who are lactose intolerant.
cashew pesto - cashews are sweeter and creamier. Toss a few cashews into your pesto if you desire a creamier texture.
pecan and rocket pesto - the rocket salad adds a certain sharpness. It is excellent with meat.
walnut and watercress pesto - a different type of pesto combining Napoleon's favourite herb. Care to take a guess which one it is?
basil and pistachio pesto - this pesto is excellent when served with a cheese board. It's completely irresistible.

Bowl of pasta with wild garlic pesto sauce

recipes for wild garlic

Wild garlic is massively popular in central Europe. Especially, when it's in season. Therefore, in late spring, it is common to see a lot of recipes with wild garlic on the menus of restaurants.

Here are a few creative ways you can use the pesto and make a memorable dish:

Combine it with fresh fusilli pasta.
Use it as a rub on top of fish and make this exceptional pesto baked salmon.
Combine the pesto into a salad like this delicious butter bean salad with avocado and pumpkin seeds. Get ready for one health bomb!
Use it as a stuffing and make this pesto stuffed bread. You can pair this pesto stuffed bread with practically any type of recipe. Or better yet, enjoy completely as it is.

How would you use this incredible pesto? Would you make a pasta dish or do you have something else in mind? Let me know in the comments section below.

📖 Recipe