Fresh Wild Garlic Pesto. As an ingredient, wild garlic has definitely become more and more popular over the years, especially for the ambitious home cook. Danny aka Food Urchin is lucky to have wild garlic growing in his garden and shares some of his favourite recipes for the plant, including a spring fresh wild garlic pesto. A deliciously fresh pesto with wild garlic (aka bear garlic, buckrams, ramsons).

Transfer it to a high container. Add nuts, olive oil and a pinch of salt. Wild garlic is a naturally-occurring garlic variety, commonly found in limestone beech forests. You can have Fresh Wild Garlic Pesto using 6 ingredients and 5 steps. Here is how you cook it.

Ingredients of Fresh Wild Garlic Pesto

Prepare 2 bunches of fresh wild garlic.
You need of High-quality olive oil.
It's 2-3 cups of grated cheese (fresh Parmesan and/or Gruyére).
It's 50 g of pine nuts.
Prepare 1 squeeze of lemon juice.
It's to taste of Salt and pepper.

This species develops early in the season and is highly prized as a wild vegetable. It is picked by hand before it blooms (April/May) and processed whilst still fresh. With a very intense flavour, this is a real treat for pesto and garlic lovers. If you want to keep it longer, pour a small layer of olive oil on top of the pesto.

Fresh Wild Garlic Pesto instructions

Wash and dry the wild garlic. Rip into pieces and place in a high container that is suitable for blending. Add a few glugs of olive oil and start to shred with an immersion blender. You might have to add the wild garlic bit by bit if it doesn’t all fit immediately..
Add a squeeze of lemon juice and a pinch of salt and pepper. Add the grated cheese..
Roast the pine nuts in a dry pan over medium heat, stirring/turning them regularly. Keep your eyes on the pan, as they tend to burn quickly! Rove from the pan once they then golden brown, let cool and add to the pesto. Blend again..
Add olive oil until the consistency is creamy and a little liquidy. Season with salt and pepper to taste..
Serve with pasta and green salad..

This delicious pesto can be served with grilled fish/chicken/ tagliatelle with shaved Parmesan on top. At this time of year, it is exciting to see their first green shoots appearing and I find it a joy to get out in the fresh air down by the stream and pick some. Unlike normal garlic, it is only the fresh. Rinse and roughly chop the wild garlic leaves. Blitz the wild garlic leaves, parmesan, garlic, lemon zest and pine nuts to a rough paste in a food processor.