Wild Garlic Pesto
I am a relative newcomer to the joys of cooking with wild garlic, as until recently you could never find it in the shops and — as an indoorsy Londoner — I am not much given to long walks in the countryside, where it grows in profusion, mostly from March to June, its leaves looking rather like the foliage of Lily of The Valley. It’s vital you don’t confuse them, though, as the latter are poisonous. But, thankfully, wild garlic’s pungent scent is a crucial guide to its identity, though do check a manual or the internet for guidance if needed. I wrote quite a bit in Cook, Eat, Repeat about wild garlic and the many ways I cook with it, and am very happy to be able to bring one of my favourites to the website now. It is incredibly easy, and fabulously versatile. For while spaghetti with wild garlic pesto is glorious, I also love this heady concoction as a dressing for a potato salad (add more oil and lemon juice as wished); tossed into some just-cooked, drained green beans, stirred into warm chick peas or cannellini beans; added to a toastie; dolloped onto tomatoes; stirred into soup (and I do recommend making the Pea and Pesto Soup with it). And that’s a very truncated list of possibilities! When my jar of this pesto is finished, I fill it up with olive oil and a spritz of lemon to use as a salad dressing, or to drizzle over fish. I don’t add pine nuts to this, but if you would like to, by all means do. And for those who can’t get hold of wild garlic / ramps, you can make a more traditional pesto by replacing the wild garlic with basil, along with a clove of garlic. One final thing: if you are foraging for wild garlic/ ramps, please do so sustainably, and be careful not to pull up the bulb. And please read the Additional Information section at the end of the recipe before proceeding.
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