Soups & Starters
Vegetarian & Vegan
Wild garlic pesto
Fantastic with pasta, used to stuff chicken breasts, on top of grilled or baked fish - and as a bruschetta topping
The bases of the hedgerows here in East Sussex are full of wild garlic at the moment – as is my garden. This pesto is my favourite way to use it and I’ve been meaning for ages to put it on here as a separate recipe - until now, it’s been buried as the filling for my tear-and-share Wild Garlic Rolls (https://acooksplot.com/2019-03-27-wild-or-ordinary-garlic-rolls), which is where it started out. What’s prompted me to put the recipe on A Cook’s Plot now is that a lovely B\&B guest who has just stayed here with her husband mentioned how much she liked the wild garlic pesto bruschetta I made for their dinner here on their first evening. So, Caroline - this is for you!
There’s only really one plant that could be confused with wild garlic and that’s lily of the valley - the flower is very different, but do be careful as lily of the valley is poisonous. Be sure to pick only the leaves of wild garlic and not to pull up the bulbs if you’re taking it from the wild.
Ingredients
Makes A medium size jar (about 10 servings)
- about 100g wild garlic leaves (roughly a colander full)
- 25g walnuts
- 50g toasted flaked almonds (or pine nuts)
- 100ml rapeseed oil
- 50g grated cheddar or parmesan
- half tsp salt
Method
Whizz the washed wild garlic leaves with the walnuts, toasted flaked almonds (or pine nuts) and rapeseed oil in a food processor until it forms a paste, then stir in the cheddar and salt. And that’s it!
A Cook's Plot Tip
Wild garlic tastes very much like 'real' garlic, just a little sweeter and less harsh. The key to this pesto is to use plenty of salt as it really brings out the flavour nicely. It’s so simple to make and keeps for about a week in an airtight container in the fridge. It freezes really well too – divide it into portions sizes, wrap in cling film and then put all the little packages in a poly bag to freeze them.
To make bruschetta using the pesto, grill slices of baguette or sourdough on one side, then spread with a heaped tablespoon of pesto, top with slices of feta and grill until bubbling and just browning.