Wild Garlic Pesto

seckorama(77)

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2021-05-08 18:11

Hello, chefs! 😋

Again, I have a wild plant that we use in our home diet. This is wild garlic (Allium ursinum), which we call 'čemaž', and which grows from March to June.

wild garlic, source

We mostly pick the leaves, but other parts of the plant can be picked as well. It can be used to make garlic soup or eaten fresh in salads and spreads. Fresh and sliced garlic can be used to season all kinds of dishes.

Wild garlic is a versatile medicinal herb. It is used mainly in folk medicine because it stimulates glandular function, blood circulation, cleanses the entire digestive tract and respiratory tract, has a disinfectant effect, cleanses the skin, and promotes wound healing. It is also a good anti-asthmatic (against asthma), cholesterol-lowering, diuretic (removes urine from the body) and antipyretic (lowers fever).

Wild garlic in the woods when it flowers, source

Warning: Wild garlic is similar to two very poisonous plants: Lily of the valley (Convallaria majus) and the autumn crocus (Colchicum autumnale), which do not smell of garlic. Poisoning by them is very serious and often results in death. Care should therefore be taken when picking.

😋 📷 🥗 😎

At home, we make a pesto from wild garlic leaves to use with pasta or rice, or as a spread.
First, we need to wash well all the leaves we have collected.

What do we need for wild garlic pesto?

500 grams of wild garlic leaves
100 grams of crushed nuts (we have almond flour here, of course, it can be something else - walnuts, hazelnuts, peanuts, etc...)
1 deciliter of olive oil
a couple of tablespoons of salt
and we need a mixer to blend it all together

This is the base, some people also add some aged cheese like parmesan, pine nuts, bread crumbs.

😋 📷 🥗 😎

First, add all the wild garlic and one to two tablespoons of salt to the mixer, seal and grind finely. Add half a deciliter of olive oil while mixing. Add the almond flour or the crushed nuts. Add more olive oil if necessary. The pesto is made.

Now just fill the cups, half a kilo of wild garlic leaves has made about 300 grams of pesto,

There will be enough for three cups. Top it up with olive oil so that the pesto, which will keep in the fridge for up to 3 months, doesn't spoil sooner.

That's it! Now it can be used as a seasoning, in soups, in sauces, on pasta, on rice. It has a stronger and hotter flavor than ordinary garlic, so there is no need to use too much.

Well, I had to spread it on bread and try it.