Delicious Wild Garlic Pesto Recipe
By itakins
Wild Garlic
Wild garlic - a hardy perennial of the onion family-is appreciated for its delicious garlic flavoured leaves, bulbs, and flowers. It grows profusely in wooded areas throughout Ireland, (and other areas with temperate climates)- where drifts of the star-like white flowers are very noticeable alongside bluebells in late spring and early summer.
Wild garlic is just as good for the health as the cultivated variety, and is believed to reduce cholesterol and high blood pressure-and it’s free.
At this time of year where I live, which is very much a woodland setting, if I open any of the outside doors of my house, I am immediately hit by the wonderful aroma of wild garlic-it’s actually a more gentle aroma than the cultivated variety.
The previous owner of the house was an avid rose gardener, and used them as companion plants for his roses-to keep the various bugs that attack them away.
While I haven’t had much success with the roses-the wild garlic thrives on healthy neglect, so I have no shortage.
I have to admit that initially I thought it was inedible,but I love the look of it anyway, so I let it do its own thing-an attitude which I have adopted to most wild plants in my garden.
However some years ago, I went out for a meal in a countryhouse restaurant, and to my surprise, I was served these wonderful littleflowers with a salad!
I figured I was on to something here, and since then, wild garlic is the order of the day in this house, at this time of year.
I find it is best just to use what is required on a dailybasis, and leave the rest in the ground-hopefully for years to come.
Ingredients for wild garlic pesto.
- 1 cup wild garlic leaves
- 1 cup pine nuts
- 1 cup parmesan cheese
- Olive oil, -enough to make a pouring sauce.
- Pinch salt and pepper
Nutritional values
| Nutrition Facts | |
|---|---|
| Serving size: 1/2 Cup | |
| Calories 400 | Calories from Fat 342 |
| % Daily Value * | |
| Fat 38 g | 58% |
| Saturated fat 7 g | 35% |
| Unsaturated fat 9 g | |
| Carbohydrates 9 g | 3% |
| Sugar 1 g | |
| Fiber 1 g | 4% |
| Protein 11 g | 22% |
| Cholesterol 13 mg | 4% |
| * The Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet, so your values may change depending on your calorie needs. The values here may not be 100% accurate because the recipes have not been professionally evaluated nor have they been evaluated by the U.S. FDA. | |
Instructions
- Use only the well washed leaves from the picked wild garlic. Put the garlic leaves and pine nuts into a food blender and mix them until they are smooth. Add the parmesan cheese and blend well. Gently pour in the olive oil until you have a smooth pesto sauce. Season with salt and pepper, if desired. Store in air-tight jars in a dark cupboard and the pesto will keep for several weeks.
Cook Time
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I appreciate all comments-Thank you kindly-and when you rate this hub up -I like that too!
BkCreative
Also full of iron and other goodies and great for the cardiovasculaer system(nettles great for kidneys too).
I really hope you like it-thank you very much for your visit:)
Looks scrumptious indeed. Thumbs up for itakins!!
Forever His,
RevLady
Thank you-scrumptious is the word:)
Now here's something I will make and eat. I use garlic in almost everything (except sweet dishes of course) and this soup is very similar to one of my favorites -- Alium soup -- using garlic, leeks and onions. Yum. Thanks.
Its official itakins I love you...smiles...Garlic...a spice of life...Thank you great hub...
Blessings
Immartin
Enjoy-it is yummy!
Quill
Well I am thrilled it's now official:)
wild garlic grows in abundance in my yard..I never thought to pick it and make something with it. I will definitely be bookmarking this one. If I just knew how to cook without burning everything. LOL
Tammy
Good to see you-all I can say is ,stick to the pesto ,at least you won't burn it:)
It's full of pure goodness-and free!
Thanks so much for a great recipe that I already know I will love.
B'pop
You are very welcome indeed:)
Another delicious recipe! Thanks for sharing.
Lamme
You are very welcome.
Your Garlic soup sounds like a winner. Can you export some to America ?
CYBERSUPE...It's on the way.....>Thanks for calling by.
I love this recipes and garlic is my favorite, beside as a herbal remedies. Good work, my friend. Thumbs Up!
prasetio30
Thank you kindly-:)
I like to take ten cloves of garlic and put them in red beet juice with some beets thrown in for good measure, and microwave them together for about two and a half minutes. The garlic absorbs the beet flavor, and becomes quite palatable, and all 3..... beets, beet juice and garlic are super for reducing cholesterol, and high blood pressure. Thanks for the hub...I will have to try the pesto with some garlic zesto.~~~MFB III
MFB 111
Thanks -I didn't realise beets were so good-assuming they're not the pickled ones which are great.Must check that out-10 cloves in one go-brave:)
Gee Ita- this sounds great! I'm very hungry now.
MFB's recipe sounds great too. I do have some cholesterol.
Thanks Ita!
We don't cook without herbs and garlic. I love garlic in most of my dishes, what a fantastic Hub..made me very hungry for pesto and garlic...will have to now go to the kitchen and start to prepare some. Thanks again for the share.
Micky
Thank you-garlic is very good for the cardivascular system-MFB'S does sound good-worth a try.
Flaxseed (linseed) is also very good for cholesterol and you can take it in a variety of ways.
saddlerider1
Isn't pesto delicious-enjoy:)
Wow, I can't wait to try this one. Garlic and pesto together in a soup. My mouth is already watering. It sounds delicious. I have bookmarked this one for sure. Thanks for sharing.
Sage
Sage
Happy to oblige-I have so much wild garlic at the moment ,it's on the menu every day-delicious.
Sounds delicious. I have something called garlic chives growing in my garden. Wonder if it is similar to the wild garlic? I use it in soups, etc. and just might give it a try making a pesto out of it. It should work. Just gave some of it to two different friends who wanted to grow it. It is a hearty and perennial plant. Thanks for the recipes!
It well may be-the leaves are strappy and it has tiny white flowers ,which taste delicious.Good luck with the pesto-I can vouch for it:)
great hub thanks will give it a go i love garlic its my best friend....
Good on you-Garlic Angel-Enjoy!
When I seen garlic, I kew this Hub was for me!!! lol, lol, I love garlic!! And you too!! Blessings!
drpastorcarlotta
You are very kind -thank you:)
Itakins, Excellent! Sounds gourmet tasty! Thanks for sharing!
In His love
I love garlic. Thank you for the recipes. I will rate up. I will also follow. I hope to see you at my hub pages.
Granny's House
Thank you-I'll be there.
Sounds very good, both my wife and I love trying new recipes. I have to ask some of my farmer friends if they know where any wild garlic grows. Nice of you to share.
mquee
Thank you for calling by-this garlic grows in woodland areas,and it's gorgeous!
Looks nice and tasty--thanks for the recipe.
tdarby
You are welcome indeed.
Now if only I had the wild garlic - you might tempt me with this recipe. My garlic is the other sort. I do have nettles aplenty,I have heard of nettle soup, just not sure about coooking with them, might try it one day though.
I voted this up and gave it a useful - as I found it was. :)
Hi 2uesday
I have enough nettles to provide the whole country:)
I have made nettle tea a few times and there is a huge difference between the young nettles and the older ones(as they would be now).I saw a chef on TV lately making an omelette with nettles and dock leaves-it did look delicious-haven't tried that yet!
Great recipe idea. I would like to cultivate some wild garlic in Costa Rica. I should find out on how to get some cloves.
Randy M
Thank you indeed-it's so easy to grow, and I suspect you won't have any difficulty getting it.Enjoy.
Thanks for sharing this awesome recipe sound so yummy !
Vote up !!!
Thankyou Kashmir56 -Enjoy :)
Can't wait to try the pesto!
And so you shall my dear-it's fabulous....too soon yet though.
Yum! I only wish i've wild garlic growing outside my dooor too. I love the pesto sauce you create with it. Do they sell wild garlic at the store? Thanks for sharing and can you see, I'm rather green with envy--fresh herbs at your beck and call?
Here they don't have to sell it in the store -we are knee deep in it from April through to July approx-I love the scented air at night
Thank you for calling by.
Howdy itakins - I really enjoyed this article. I have not experienced the presence of wild garlic anywhere close to where I live (South Texas) but we do have lots of wild onion. In fact, many years ago the aboriginal Indians used to travel from afar to feast on the wild onions. As do your wild garlic plants, those wild onions provide a strong, but pleasant, odor, and they even provide small, but handsome, flowers following the winter months.
Gus :-)))
Hi GusTheRedneck -
Thanks so much for calling by,I am glad you enjoyed the hub.Now I have to go and check out aboriginal Indians as opposed to native Indians.I associate aboriginal with Australia......shall check it out now.
Hi itakins - Perhaps this might save you some lookup work - aboriginal and "native" have essentially the same meaning; that is, they were perhaps first on the scene. Only the other day I read that the "native" Ameicans, the Indians who reputedly traveled to North America by walking across the then land bridge from Asia, were perhaps not the first folks to get to the lands along the Atlantic Ocean. The article stated that evidence has been found indicating that the first to arrive here were from Europe - by some 10-20,000 years or more.
These are all interesting suppositions, I guess, and I suppose that I am next going to attempt finding some wild garlic that might grow in my garden.
Gus :-)))
Ah thank you for the information,I had never heard this term applied to Native Americans.Mind you I had heard of the possibility that Europeans had arrived there earlier than traditionally thought!
If you get the wild garlic bulbs, they do need to be contained a bit as they are inclined to be garden bullys if left unchecked:)
BkCreative 2 years ago
Whew! I want this right now - it is so mouthwatering. And no doubt healing too. Wonderful! Ok I am bookmarking - and of course rating it up. I can't wait to try these.