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I'm just back from my 'Spring Greens' foraging walk, where Wild Garlic was the star of the show - if you missed out, not to worry, I'll be releasing some more dates soon!
Late March in the UK is the perfect time to seek out the abundant and completely delicious wild garlic. My foraging group were treated to a menu of cheese scones with wild garlic butter and wild garlic pesto, a fresh salad featuring dandelion, primrose and three-cornered leek and a hearty nettle soup. The pesto was sooooo delicious it felt rude not to share it!
Wild garlic begins to shoot in early March and the young, tender leaves are perfect for eating right now. Pop them in salads, soups, stews, pesto, butter - anywhere you fancy a fresh, mild, garlic taste. Wild garlic loves damp shady places. It can be found in woodlands and grass verges, particularly if there is a water source. The plant is available until around May - it starts with young fresh green leaves in March and begins to flower into April and May.
All parts of the plant are edible - the leaves have a fresher, milder garlic flavour, whilst the flower stalks, buds and flowers have a stronger flavour.
I'd urge you to go out and have a look in your local woodland!
Wild Garlic and Walnut Pesto: Ingredients
Less than 10 mins to make
Approx 4 servings
50g walnuts
2 large handfuls of wild garlic
1/2 lemon
2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
50g parmesan
pinch of salt
Wild Garlic and Walnut Pesto: Method
Rinse wild garlic and then dry completely - pat with a clean tea towel or use a salad spinner.
Toast walnuts - either dry fry in a pan or put in the oven (190 degrees) for around 10 mins. Allow to cool.
Put walnuts, pinch of salt and wild garlic in a food processor and pulse until combined (should make a thick mulch).
Decant into a bowl and squeeze in the lemon and stir in the olive oil to loosen the mixture.
Grate the parmesan and add to the mixture.
Taste for seasoning and consistency (add more olive oil for a looser texture).
Now to enjoy!
This delicious pesto is nutritious and vibrant and can be used in a myriad of ways. Try slathered over a cheese scone, stirred through your favourite pasta, swirled into a pot of hummus, blobbed on a pizza or just eaten as is - and enjoy every mouthful!
If you'd like to book your next foraging adventure with me, then click on the info button below :)
We had the pleasure of joining Clare on a very enjoyable and interesting Foraging Walk recently. Clare has a wealth of knowledge about the different plants and their healing capacities and being a local knows the area really well. In the end we finished with a most delicious lunch consisting of home-baked scones with wild garlic butter, dandelion salad and garlic and walnut pesto. We were then able to make our own walnut, nettle and garlic pesto at home using the nettles and wild garlic we collected during our walk. We could also complement our dinner later with a delicious dandelion leaves and primrose flowers salad which we also collected during our walk. We also discovered cleaver growing behi…