Wild Garlic Pesto Recipe

Felicity Vincent
Apr 1, 2024
2 min read

Updated: Mar 18

This wild garlic recipe is a great seasonal twist on a classic pesto

Wild garlic is starting to spring out of the ground, if you're lucky enough to live near a patch then make sure to go pick a few leaves. You'll be most likely to find some by looking in a shady wooded area. You can smell wild garlic before you spot it. Add a few leaves raw or cooked instead of a garlic clove to any recipe.

I always freeze a bag of leaves to add to recipes after the season is over, but pesto is best when using them fresh so let's make the most of it while we can!

Ingredients: (serves 2)

Wild garlic pesto:

30g pine nuts
100g spinach
7g wild garlic
20mL EVOO
S&P

Method: (see photos and videos below)

First, set off on a walk to forage the wild garlic (if there is none near you, you can also buy it from delis, seasonal veg boxes and green grocers during the season). The leaves are long, smooth and pointed. Before picking, make sure you've identified the correct plant by crushing a leaf in your hands, it should then smell of garlic/strong spring onion. Be careful not to step on plants or uproot them and only pick up to 3 leaves per plant to ensure it can keep growing.
Once picked, you're ready to make pesto!
Toast the pine nuts until golden in a medium hot pan then put in the food processor.
In the same pan, cook the spinach for 2 minutes so it wilts. Rinse it cold water, then squeeze out the excess water.
Blend the pine nuts and spinach in a food processor until they form a paste. Add the wild garlic leaves, EVOO, salt & pepper then blend again until smooth. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed.
Cook your pasta shape of choice, gnocchi or butter beans then stir the pesto through with a bit of cooking water until it coats your carb of choice.
Enjoy with an extra drizzle of EVOO and a bit of wild garlic on top, bon appétit!

Foraging Wild Garlic:

More about this recipe:

The savouriness from the wild garlic and the richness of the pine nuts make this the perfect green pesto in my opinion. You can add a bit of lemon juice if you want a bit more freshness.

I've used wilted spinach for some more greens and as I find only wild garlic can be a bit overpowering.

Wild garlic is a great source of biotin, folate, iron and Vitamins A & C.

It's a great ingredient to use for a moment of restoration and happiness:

Good source of folate - not having enough folate increases the chance of feeling depressed. Vitamin C - involved in converting dopamine to noradrenaline - low amounts of noradrenaline are associated with depression.
Allium sulphur compound - highest in garlic, they have been shown to reduce incidence of cardiovascular diseases.