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Wild garlic & walnuts pesto

Over the years, I heard a lot about wild garlic but never really paid attention to it, to the point of exploring it in the kitchen... My mum-in-law has a lot of it in her garden - left there for decorative purpose - and I saw some here and there in the local woods while going for walks... My curiosity for that plant has been triggered at the Wivenhoe market, where I met the lovely Alex, who was selling his own homemade Wild Garlic Pesto. I bought one of his jars and became addicted to it. I decided to challenge myself and explore my own pesto recipe! But before to share with you the whole recipe, I thought it was interesting to do some research around the history of wild garlic and its benefits.

First of all, I love the French translation of the wild garlic: we call it Ail des Ours (Bears' garlic) as it is the direct translation of Latin, it is called allium ursinum. So why being named after the bears? Because, in the wild, when bears wake up after their long hibernation, the very first plant they would eat is the wild garlic, whereas most of the other animals won't touch it. Great little story, right? Now we know allium ursinum is also known as bears' garlic, here is a list of alternative names used: ramsons, buckrams, broad-leaved garlic, wood garlic, bear leek.

It is a bulbous perennial flowering plant in the lily family Amaryllidaceae. It is a wild relative of onion, native to Europe and Asia, where it grows in moist woodland. Here in the UK, it is found across most of the country. Have a look at the excellent article published by Hedgerow Harvest to see where exactly you can find it.

"Like Bluebells, it prefers slightly acidic soils so if you know a good Bluebell wood it might have Wild Garlic too. Given suitable conditions it can be prolific carpeting significant areas, almost turning the woodland floor white" (Extract Hedgerow Harvest)

Here in Essex, I have discovered many nice places to forage wild garlic. But being a bit of an overprotective nature maybe, I don't like to collect it from the wild. Instead, I bought it from Natoora (Call me crazy!) with my last Ocado order! Natoora had two boxes on offer 2 for £4, which wasn't cheap. It also made ma win my little debate with my other half about Alex's jar's price (£4.50! Perfect price to me!) I have also ordered some organic seeds and hope to plant them next week in my herbs' garden! Yes, I am planning on making a few jars for family and friends :-)

After doing more investigations, I discovered how wild garlic has beneficial addition to the diet, promoting the general health of the body when used regularly. Bear's garlic is anthelmintic, antiasthmatic, anticholesterolemic, antiseptic, antispasmodic, astringent, cholagogue, depuritive, diaphoretic, diuretic, expectorant, febrifuge, hypotensive, rubefacient, stimulant, stomachic, tonic and vasodilator. It produces something called sulfide compounds, similar to those found in garlic and onions. It appears to have similar medicinal effects, including antifungal and antimicrobial properties and cardiovascular benefits (Fern 2011, Koch and Lawson 1996). Studies have documented that its antiplatelet activity (which guards against cardiovascular disease /can reduce the tendency of platelets in the blood to clump and clo ), is similar to that of garlic (Hiyasat et al. 2009), and that it may reduce cardiac arrhythmias (Rietz et al. 1993)

Enough of all the complex terms! Let me now share with you my recipe! I used fresh walnuts from Grenoble, which my mum kindly bought for me last time I went to France! Cracking the shells is time-consuming but the quality of the walnuts is exceptional and very much worth every minute of the cracking and peeling!

Wild garlic & Walnut Pesto

Ingredients

  • 100g wild garlic leaves

  • 50g toasted Grenoble walnuts

  • 2 tablespoons of Pomora olive oil

  • lemon juice (I use organic Lemon Plus)

  • Smoked Maldon salt and pepper

Method

  1. Wash wild garlic leaves thoroughly. Make sure there is no soil left.

  2. Toast all walnuts

  3. Cut leaves in half, place the leaves, olive oil and walnuts into a food processor and blitz it all. For a more traditional and longer process, you can use a pestle and mortar.

  4. Add in your smoked Maldon salt, pepper and lemon juice. (Don't abuse of the lemon juice so you can still get that kick of the garlic in your pesto)

Now your pesto is ready, use a sterilized jar to store it (in fridge)

Enjoy it with fresh pasta or with any red meat! It is divine with lamb or beef! But also with pulled pork! Add a spoon of Greek yogurt into the mix and turn it into a dipping mix, to try with nachos, crackers or veggies sticks! Or maybe do it the way I have done it last time? Fresh salad from Lauriston farm, two eggs from the farm and two tea spoons of the pesto used as dressing (mixed with extra olive oil)?

Absolutely divine!

Try it and tell me your thoughts via my website, Instagram or Twitter!

Bisous,

Urszula x

Sources:

 

Nutrition Disclaimer: note I am not a doctor, nutritionist, dietician or health professional of any sort. I have no medical training. The information I share is based on my own experience, taste and thoughts. I submit here information I learn from my own research, find over the internet via other websites, blogs etc or when attending seminars or trade fairs, listening to special guest speakers there.

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