WILD GARLIC

One of the first spring greens and a few favorite recipes

Wild garlic is something I look dearly forward to all winter long. It starts growing in late winter and signifies spring is just around the corner. A much-welcomed wild food gives our bodies the needed boost and green goodness after the long winter and somewhat bland, opulent diets. Allium ursinum, also known as ramson, wood garlic, or bear leek, is a bulbous perennial flowering plant, native to Europe and northern Asia, carpeting moist woodlands, valleys, and forests in the peak of the season.

Ramps, on the other hand, is used to refer to wild leeks, Allium Tricoccum, which is native to the U.S. and found in the wild from the mountainous mid-Atlantic states northward. Wild populations of wild garlic are not found in the U.S.

As a member of the Allium genus, wild garlic is closely related to onion, garlic, leek, and chive. You can substitute all of them with wild garlic in your spring kitchen endeavors and experiments. Wild garlic boasts a very long history of use and has been growing wild since ancient times. The 1st-century Greek botanist Pedanius Dioscorides describes its effectiveness for the cleansing and detoxification of the body. In the Middle Ages, wild garlic was considered strong against the evil eye, witches, and demons. The plant’s common name “bear garlic” is from the belief that bears eat wild garlic to regain strength after their long winter sleep.

It is believed that the plants of the bear contain the power of renewal and purification. Its medicinal value is anthelmintic, antiasthmatic, anticholesterolemic, antiseptic, antispasmodic, astringent, diaphoretic, diuretic, expectorant, febrifuge, hypotensive, rubefacient, stimulant, stomachic, tonic and vasodilator.

In simpler terms, it neutralizes free radical activity and oxidative stress, thus lowering the risk of cancer, heart disease, and arthritis. It also lowers blood pressure, has a beneficial effect on the arteries, and lowers high cholesterol and triglycerides in the blood. Research by Kiesewetter found that one gram of wild garlic taken daily can greatly improve blood circulation. It has strong antibacterial and anti-fungal compounds, thus re-balancing the bacterial flora in the gut, dispeling parasites in the intestines, and is a wonderful digestive aid, treating indigestion, stomachache, and can even be used to aid in weight loss. Traditionally it was used in the treatment of bronchitis and asthma, as it clears the airways, and protects against colds and flu. It is a fantastic wild food for supporting detoxification and cleanses the liver, kidneys, and bladder, making it ideal for everyone who suffers from skin disorders, chronic inflammation, and seasonal allergies. Wild garlic has a whole plethora of important vitamins and minerals (100 g of wild garlic leaves contain 45 mg of vitamin C and almost 5 mg of beta-carotene), making it the perfect wild food for boosting the immune system and preventing spring fatigue.

A word of caution: wild garlic leaves can be easily confused with the lily of the valley, the lords and ladies, and autumn crocus, all poisonous plants, with potentially deadly consequences, so be sure you are foraging the real thing (which shouldn’t be a problem, if you forage in small batches, leaf by leaf, as the smell of wild garlic is truly unmistakable).

The whole plant is edible. The leaves can be foraged in spring from March, and are the most potent when young. They can be used as salad, spice, boiled, in soup, as pesto, risotto, or as a twist in the Greek tzatziki. They can be kept in an air-tight container for a few days, but spoil relatively quickly. It’s best to preserve them as pesto, or salt or freeze them to use out of season. The flowers appear later in spring, from April to June, while the leaves lose their strength and potency. Flower buds and flowers are very tasty and make a delicious and decorative addition to salad, focaccia, pasta, and soup. Small green flower buds make a delicious caper substitute. Flower-infused vinegar is especially delicious and nutritious. Mature leaves are great in Italian-style preparations like risotto, polenta, gnocchi, and frittata. Young shots that look similar to chives work amazing in Asian-style dishes. Fresh garlic bulbs are small, but tasty and make a wonderful spring substitute for garlic cloves.

A SELECTION OF WILD GARLIC RECIPES

WILD GARLIC JUICE

Ingredients: wild garlic leaves

Wash and tap-dry a bunch of wild garlic leaves (the younger the better), chop them finely, and squeeze the juice out of them with a quality juicer. Consume 1 teaspoon of wild garlic juice three times a day. Store in the fridge (it keeps well for a couple of days) or prepare fresh daily. You can mix the fresh juice with raw honey for an additional health boost. Fresh wild garlic juice is a phenomenal spring tonic, rejuvenator, and blood purifier. I use fresh wild garlic juice in wild garlic pasta and focaccia recipes too. The juice of the plant can be used as a moth repellent.

WILD GARLIC BUTTER

Ingredients: wild garlic leaves, butter (room temperature), salt, and pepper (to taste)

I love wild garlic butter. If you like garlic bread, you will love it too. It is so easy to prepare and it’s great for preserving the goodness of wild garlic, as it will keep a long time in the freezer – make sure to store it properly, as it tends to lend its smell to other frozen food stored nearby.

Take a handful of washed (dry them in a salad spinner, or tap them dry with a clean kitchen towel) fresh young wild garlic leaves and mix them finely in a blender. Add 250 g butter (room temperature) until all is mixed well and you get a uniform-looking green butter paste. Add salt and pepper to your taste. Use immediately, keep in the refrigerator, or freeze for later use. I usually make a few batches throughout spring (and love spreading it on freshly baked goods).

WILD GARLIC SALT

Ingredients: wild garlic leaves, natural coarse salt, (for additional flavor I sometimes add dried and finely ground peel of an untreated organic lemon)

I love to have a selection of infused salts in the kitchen to add depths of flavor to dishes. Wild garlic salt is a great way to preserve this delicious and healthy spring wild food, is versatile to use (I love it on young roast potatoes), makes a great edible gift, and is super easy to prepare. Take a bunch of fresh wild garlic leaves, wash, and tap them completely dry. Mix them finely in a blender and add approximately the same amount of good quality natural coarse salt and blend briefly to form a thick green mixture. For additional flavor, I sometimes add dried and finely ground peel of an untreated organic lemon. Spread the damp wild garlic salt mixture out on a baking tray and set it in a warm place to dry overnight. Once completely dry, use a fork to break up any clumps of salt. You can also use a cool oven (at the lowest setting 60°C) or a dehydrator to dry the salt. Once dry, spoon into jars. Store in a cool dark place to preserve its color. The salt will last indefinitely, but its color and flavor will fade, so it is best used within six months.

WILD GARLIC FLOWER-INFUSED VINEGAR

Ingredients: wild garlic flowers, vinegar

Pick 1 cup of fresh wild garlic blossoms and crush them to release their scent. Loosely pack them into a clean glass jar and pour the vinegar over the blossoms until they are completely immersed in the liquid. Stir them down to keep them immersed. Store at room temperature away from direct light for at least 2 weeks (I left mine to infuse almost for 2 months), strain, and discard the blossoms. The wild garlic flower-infused vinegar has a truly delicious taste.

Wild garlic butter and goat cheese decorated with spring flowers and herbs, wild garlic flowers-infused vinegar, my mum decorating wild garlic focaccia and wild garlic salt

WILD GARLIC PESTO

Wild garlic pesto is the first thing I make with wild garlic every spring. I eat copious amounts of it over the first few months, while the young leaves are truly strong in taste. I use it in sandwiches, on young roast potatoes, with sauteed asparagus, with eggs, mixed in fresh cheese, in sauces, in soups, on top of salads, with nettle pancakes, and on top of my spring green pizza. I preserve some jars of wild garlic pesto for later, but the pesto does lose some of its strong taste, so it is best to eat it as soon as possible. I experimented with different pesto recipes but always found that the simplest worked best for me.

Ingredients: 200 g wild garlic leaves (washed and tapped dry), 100 g walnuts, 60 ml good quality virgin olive oil (add more, if the mixture is too thick), salt and pepper. Sometimes I add some lemon juice, to taste, but more often I don’t and sometimes I add some Parmesan cheese and pine nuts, but mostly I just add them later on to the final dish, if so desired.

Wash the wild garlic leaves and tap dry. Quickly toast walnuts in a pan on high heat. Mix everything in a blender, add enough olive oil, salt, and pepper to taste. Store in clean jars. Cover with additional olive oil to prevent spoilage. I keep the jars in the fridge. This is a very strong-tasting pesto, so those with more delicate tummies (like my husband), prefer to mix and dilute it with sour cream, yogurt, or more olive oil when consuming. I, on the other hand, love the strong pesto and can eat it spoonfuls straight out of the jar.

WILD GARLIC POCKETS

Wild garlic pockets have been inspired by Maja Lewicz (@veggi_intervention). They are beautiful, delicious, and make a great starter dish or finger food for spring parties.

Ingredients: 10 large wild garlic leaves plus a handful for shredding, 2 tabelspoons almonds, 2 tablespoons walnuts, 2 teaspoons raisins, 50 ml virgin olive oil, a few drops of lemon juice, a pinch of salt and pepper. For garnish: wild garlic blossoms, rosemary blossoms, micro greens, spruce tips, and hulled hemp seeds.

Clean and wash wild garlic leaves. Pick 10 big ones and blanch them quickly in boiling water. Put them in an ice bath immediately. Take them out of the ice bath and put on paper towels to dry. Chop the rest of the wild garlic leaves roughly and set aside. Quickly toast almonds and walnuts in a pan on high heat until crunchy. In a blender mix the handful of chopped wild garlic leaves with toasted almonds, walnuts, raisins, olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper until a smooth paste. Add more olive oil, if necessary. Take 1 spoonful of the mixture and wrap it up in the blanched wild garlic leaf. Repeat until you use up all the leaves and mixture. Put the wild garlic pockets on a plate and garnish with fresh wild garlic blossoms, rosemary blossoms, micro greens, fir buds, and hulled hemp seeds.

WILD GARLIC PASTA

I love wild garlic pasta! Oh and did I mention how much I adore wild garlic? So I went really slightly overboard (probably for most tastes) and used everything wild garlic for this pasta, meaning: wild garlic juice in the pasta dough, the pasta dough decorated with wild garlic leaves and nettles and other spring goodies, wild garlic pesto, salted with wild garlic salt and decorated with more fresh wild garlic and wild garlic flowers! Hip-hurrah for wild garlic! Of course, you can just use the pasta dough recipe and add some other delicious sauces instead (asparagus and cream, spring peas, or simple olive oil with Parmigiano are all very delicious).

Ingredients for pasta dough: 150 g ʼ00ʼ Flour, 50 g semolina, 2 eggs, a pinch of salt, 1-2 tablespoons of fresh wild garlic leaves juice

Additionally: wild garlic and nettle leaves for dough decoration, wild garlic salt, wild garlic pesto, and wild garlic blossoms for final decoration

Combine the flour and semolina, make a well in the center, crack the eggs into the center, add salt and freshly pressed wild garlic juice, and start whisking with the fork to combine all the ingredients. Form the mixture into a ball of dough and knead it thoroughly so you get a very elastic dough (about 10 minutes). Wrap in plastic paper and set aside to rest (for at least 30 minutes). Roll out the pasta dough from the widest setting to the third last setting on your pasta machine. Lay the pasta sheet down and press wild garlic leaves, nettles, and other herbs or edible flowers of your choice down the middle. Cover with a pasta sheet and roll out thinly again. Cut through the pasta machine to your desired form.

Bring a large pan of salted water to a boil and place pasta into the water. Cook for about 3 minutes. Season with wild olive oil, garlic pesto, wild garlic salt, and grated Parmigiano, and decorate with fresh wild garlic blossoms. Bon Appetit!