The Perfect

Your cut-out-and-keep guide to the fundamentals of cooking

Wild garlic pesto

Wild garlic is a very common plant that grows all over Ireland in parks and slightly wooded areas. You can recognise it first by its smell, which is quite strong and slightly onion-like.

You will then see green leaves and shoots that are long and pointed at the top. Later in the season, small white flowers appear. When harvesting wild garlic, just cut off the leaves. This ensures that the garlic will grow again next year.

This pesto, compared to a basil pesto, has a very different flavour, as the base leaf has a very different flavour. As far as benefits go, it’s a lot cheaper, as you don’t have to buy the herb. It also uses a readily available fresh green that grows here in Ireland, so it doesn’t leave a carbon footprint.

The leaf itself is treated like spinach or sorrel — it will bruise when cut, and has a slightly more fibrous texture, but it works well in a pestle and mortar or food processor. Alternatively, you can use the whole leaf and toss it into dishes instead of spinach.

Wild garlic pesto doesn’t use basil, just the wild garlic leaves. There is a stronger taste to it, but not as strong as you might think, because blanching the leaves tones down the flavour.

This pesto can be used anywhere normal pesto would be. For example, try it tossed through pasta for a light lunch; as a base for a bruschetta; or added to a tray of roast vegetables at the end of the cooking time, as a light garlic seasoning.