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    Cooking Gorgeous » All Recipes » Sauces and Spreads

    Wild Garlic Pesto

    Published: Mar 29, 2022 · Modified: Mar 31, 2022 by Ayla Clulee · This post may contain affiliate links.

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

    Wild Garlic Pesto is a springtime favourite sauce that can be added to pasta, soups and salads. During the spring in the UK, when wild garlic is in season, the best way to use them is to turn them into pesto. This super tasty sauce keeps well in the fridge for two weeks and also freezes beautifully.

    pesto made with wild garlic
    Jump to:
    • Wild Garlic Health Benefits
    • Why This Recipe Works?
    • Ingredients and Substitutes
    • Step-by-Step Instructions
    • Related Recipes
    • Top Tip From the Chef
    • Wild Garlic Pesto

    Wild garlic (or Ransoms) is abundant in the UK between March and June and usually grows in the woods and riverbanks. It has long, bright green leaves, pretty little white flower buds and has quite a pungent, strong, garlic smell. The leaves appear in March and start flowering in April. 

    wild garlic growing next to a stream
    Wild garlic leaves found in a woodland in March

    Wild Garlic Health Benefits

    Extracts of wild garlic leaf lower cholesterol and blood pressure, which in turn helps to reduce the risk of diseases such as heart attack or stroke. Although all garlic has this property, wild garlic has the greatest effect on lowering blood pressure.

    Why This Recipe Works?

    • Wild Garlic Pesto is super versatile: you can stir it through pasta, use as a pizza sauce or mix it with some mayo to make sandwiches.
    • It is very easy to make this sauce in just 15 minutes with minimum preparation.
    • This pesto tastes incredibly tasty and can be used with almost everything.
    • You can store it in the fridge for up to two weeks or in the freezer for up to 6 months!
    • If you don't have pine nuts, you can use walnuts, hazelnuts, cashew, almonds, macadamias, and pumpkin seeds with this recipe.
    • This recipe is vegetarian but you can easily make it vegan by substituting the parmesan cheese for a vegan alternative. 

    Ingredients and Substitutes

    Ingredients for wild garlic pesto
    • Wild Garlic - You can forage wild garlic in the UK between March and early summer. However, if you don't have the opportunity to do so, you can buy them from the farmers' market or use the veg box scheme that provides them. Alternatively, you can substitute it with rocket leaves or basil and add a couple of fresh garlic cloves.
    • Pinenuts - It is traditional to use pinenuts for pesto but you can use any nuts you have such as walnuts, almonds or hazelnuts. Lightly toast them before adding them to pesto for a more intense flavour.
    • Parmesan - Use block parmesan for making pesto. You can substitute it with pecorino romano or grana padano cheese.
    • Olive oil - I use good quality extra virgin olive oil for my pesto as it makes a huge difference in taste.

    Step-by-Step Instructions

    Making Wild Garlic Pesto is very easy and only takes ten minutes. However, to achieve the best results, you need to follow a few simple steps:

    Carefully wash the wild garlic leaves, making sure to remove any soil or dirt. Dry them using a salad spinner.

    picked and washed wild garlic leaves

    Place the wild garlic leaves, pinenuts, parmesan cheese, salt and freshly ground black pepper in a food processor.

    place the leaves, parmesan and pine nuts in a food processor

    Blitz it while adding the olive oil slowly at the same time, until it becomes smooth. Taste the seasoning and adjust it to your taste.

    blitz until smooth

    Place it in a jar or an airtight container and then store it in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.

    Related Recipes

    For other delicious sauce and dip recipes why not try:

    • Chilli Jam
    • Garlic Ginger Paste
    • Haydari (Turkish Yoghurt Dip)
    • Mediterranean Whipped Feta Dip
    • Cacik (Turkish Yoghurt with Cucumbers)
    • Easy Authentic Hummus Recipe
    Can I freeze the Wild Garlic Pesto?

    The answer is yes, it freezes beautifully! Freezing the wild garlic pesto is the best way to preserve wild garlic as it has a very short season. Simply place them in an airtight container and freeze them for up to 6 months.

    What is pesto?

    Pesto is a delicious green sauce made with basil leaves, pinenuts, parmesan cheese, garlic and olive oil. However, you can make pesto using other nuts and green herbs or salads instead of pinenuts and basil leaves.

    What can I do with wild garlic?

    You can add younger leaves, flowers and seed pods to salads and use the flower stems like chives. Why not try making a delicious and healthy Wild Garlic Soup? Or you can make wild garlic butter with the leaves, add them to stews. You can also make cheese scones or hummus.

    Top Tip From the Chef

    If you want to forage wild garlic for the first time, check it from a pocket guidebook before picking anything. The biggest clue is the smell. It may look similar to wild garlic. Don't eat it if it doesn’t smell like garlic. Also, never pick leaves next to busy roads or lanes, or low down, where dogs are regularly walked. 

    I hope you enjoy the process of making this scrumptious Wild Garlic Pesto as much as you enjoy eating it! 🙂

    Bon appétit! / Afiyet Olsun!

    wild garlic pesto in a spoon

    Wild Garlic Pesto

    Ayla Clulee
    Wild Garlic Pesto is a super tasty springtime favourite sauce that can be added to pasta, soups and salads. 
    No ratings yet
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 10 mins
    Total Time 10 mins
    Course Sauce
    Cuisine british, English, Italian
    Servings 380 grams
    Calories 5 kcal

    Equipment

    • 1 kitchen scale
    • 1 measuring spoons
    • 1 Thermomix TM5
    • 1 salad spinner

    Ingredients
     
     

    • 150 g wild garlic leaves
    • 50 g parmesan cheese
    • 50 g pine nuts (dry roasted)
    • ¼ teaspoon salt
    • ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
    • 130 ml extra virgin olive oil

    Instructions
     

    • Carefully wash the wild garlic leaves, making sure to remove any soil or dirt. Dry them using a salad spinner.
    • Place the wild garlic leaves, pinenuts, parmesan cheese, salt and freshly ground black pepper in a food processor.
    • Blitz it while adding the olive oil slowly at the same time, until it becomes smooth.
    • Taste the seasoning and adjust it to your taste.
    • Place it in a jar or an airtight container and store it in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 5kcalCarbohydrates: 1gProtein: 1gFat: 1gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 1mgSodium: 4mgPotassium: 2mgFiber: 1gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 22IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 2mgIron: 1mg
    Tried this recipe?Mention @cookingorgeous or tag #cookingorgeous!

    FOOD SAFETY

    • Cook to a minimum temperature of 165 °F (74 °C)
    • Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods
    • Never leave cooking food unattended
    • Use oils with high smoking point to avoid harmful compounds
    • Always have good ventilation when using a gas stove

    See more guidelines at USDA.gov.

    This post use affiliate links. This means that if you click on them and then buy something, we get a small amount of commission to keep the site running, but it doesn’t cost you anything more.

    Did you make this recipe?

    Please let me know how it turned out for you! Leave a comment below and tag @cookingorgeous on Instagram and hashtag it #cookingorgeous.

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    Hi! Thank you for visiting Cooking Gorgeous. My name is Ayla, and I’m a professional chef based in the UK. The kitchen is my happy place and cooking is my therapy. To me, food is more than ingredients and nutrition; it is a language of love, a way of expressing compassion.

    More about me →

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