Every spring I’m so astonished by nature’s power. Trees that looked sad and dry over winter show their energy by blossoming. Fresh, green plants emerge from the soil, one of them is wild garlic. Wild garlic likes to grow at the edge of forests, on sunny slopes often close to a source of water.
Before you collect wild garlic, make sure you can distinguish it from the lily of the valley leaves. The leaves of this flower emerge around the same time as wild garlic does, and is often to be found in the same areas. The Lily of the valley plant is very toxic, therefore please make sure you collect the right leaves!
Below I added comparison images. The two main differences are the smell – wild garlic has an intense smell of garlic, and the back of the individual leaf – wild garlic has a very visible line on the back of the leaf. Other differences: The leaves of wild garlic grow separately from the base of the plant, whilst the leaves of the lily of the valley split further up the stem. Furthermore, the leaves of wild garlic are regularly thinner than those of the lily of the valley. When the two plants start to blossom one can easily tell them apart, as the flowers are totally different. On this blog, you can find more information on differences and other poisonous lookalikes-
Anyhow, if you have doubts, it is better if you do not collect the leaves. I recommend you collect wild garlic with someone who knows it well!
If you do collect wild garlic and you intend to make pesto, please try out the recipe below. This recipe is very simple as I believe that adding too many things to a pesto, ruins it. I hope you’ll enjoy it as much as me and my family does!
WILD GARLIC PESTO (V)
Ingredients
- 500 gr wild garlic
- 150 gr pine nuts
- 100 gr sunflower seeds
- 200/1 ml/cup olive oil extra virgin
- 6 tbsp lemon juice 2 big lemons
- 2 ¼ tsp sea salt
Instructions
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1. Wash the wild garlic thoroughly and spin it so it's not too wet.
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2. With a big knife roughly chop the wild garlic (this takes quite a while).
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3. In a skillet, toast the sunflower seeds and pine nuts on a low flame, make sure not to burn them.
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4. Add the nuts and seeds to the food processor or mixer and pulse until they are somewhat smaller.
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5. Mix all ingredients in a large bowl and pour the mixture batch-wise into the food processor or mixer. Pulse until you get the right consistency. Do not overmix, as wild garlic tents to get slimy when mixed too much.
If you have the pationce, you can also make the whole pesto by chopping the wild garlic and the nuts and seeds very thinly with a large knife.
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6. Fill the pesto into the previously prepared jars. I like to sterelize mine in boiling water, as I want to preserve the pesto I make for some time.
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7. Store in the fridge for several weeks.