Author: Thomas Sixt is a chef, food photographer, cookbook author and blogger. Here he shares recipes, answers cooking questions and helps with cooking.
wild garlic(freshly collected or from the market, follow the instructions!)
30
g
parmesan(finely grated, optional with pesto for fish and pasta)
30
g
pine nuts(or roasted almonds, optional with pesto for fish and pasta)
2
Pinches
Chili
150
ml
Olive oil(I use Greek olive oil)
some
primal salt(I use Himalayan salt or ancient salt!)
some
black ground pepper(Black pepper tastes better here!)
Equipment
Instruction
Preparation step 1 Wash wild garlic, the wild herb is my personal highlight for Easter.
Wash wild garlic
Wash the wild garlic leaves and spin dry.
If you have collected wild garlic, please wash them in hot water, put them in boiling water for ten minutes, see the information in the article, or blanch them briefly.
Preparation step 2 Sliced wild garlic prepared for mixing
Prepare wild garlic leaves
Optionally remove the coarse stems from the leaves.
-> Prepared without the stems, the pesto tastes softer.
–> Roughly chop the leaves and place in a blender jug.
Preparation step 3 Finely grate the parmesan
Grate parmesan cheese
Finely grate the Parmesan cheese and set aside.
Preparation step 4 Wild garlic with nuts and parmesan
Ingredients mixing cup
Add the prepared wild herb leaves to the mixing bowl:
–> Add the prepared cheese
-> Optionally add roasted flaked almonds or roasted pine nuts.
–> Season with salt, pepper and chili.
Preparation step 5 Prepare the wild garlic pesto with the hand blender
Prepare pesto
Add olive oil to the pesto ingredients in the blender and mix.
You can prepare your pesto according to your own taste with different nuts.
Pine nuts or almonds and walnuts are a good idea.
I like to use ground almonds for the almonds.
I chop the walnuts myself, I think finely chopped walnuts taste better in the green sauce.
I have another tip for selecting and preparing the nuts:
Always taste nuts before processing.
They can taste rancid and that spoils the fun of pesto.
Processing nuts Tip from chef Thomas Sixt
Finely chop the walnuts
Ground almonds in a bowl.
6. FAQ About Wild Garlic Pesto
I have summarized the most frequently asked questions about wild garlic and pesto below.
Any questions? You can write to me using the comment function!
How can I recognize wild garlic?
Grinding the leaves of wild garlic releases the characteristic scent of garlic.
While lily of the valley and meadow saffron have no odor.
Wild garlic has a dull green color on the underside of its leaves, while lily of the valley leaves are shiny.
Autumn crocus leaves, on the other hand, are shiny on both the underside and the top.
Wild garlic has a thin stem that sprouts singly from the ground, while lily of the valley leaves always grow in pairs on the stem.
Autumn crocus leaves, on the other hand, grow several leaves from a rosette without a stalk directly from the ground.
How to wash wild garlic?
Always wash wild garlic leaves in hot water: I first wash wild garlic several times in cold water, then I pour the basin with boiling water. Fox tapeworm eggs can adhere to the wild garlic, which are rendered harmless when blanching, cooking or at temperatures above 60 °C –> soaking time 10 minutes.
Should I blanch wild garlic for pesto?
Blanched wild garlic leaves are finer in taste. Hot washing or soaking the leaves for at least ten minutes at a temperature higher than 60°C is sufficient.
Is blanched wild garlic safe?
Bring the water to a boil and season with salt. Place the wild garlic leaves in the boiling water and submerge and stir with a skimmer. Boil the leaves once, then cool them in ice water and continue processing. Possible germs of disease are destroyed by boiling.
What is the shelf life of wild garlic?
It is better to process fresh leaves promptly and not to put them in the refrigerator unwashed.
What is the shelf life of wild garlic pesto?
Bottled in a clean jar disinfected with vinegar, you can store wild garlic pesto in the refrigerator for 5-7 days.
Below you can write to me directly. Please don’t forget the star rating on the recipe, 5 stars means you liked it!
Absolutely delicious, perfectly successful and 100% recommendation! Greetings Prater
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Hi Prater! Thank you for your praise and the positive message! 🙂 Happy Easter! Kind regards Thomas
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Hi Thomas, your wild garlic pesto tastes delicious! Many thanks for the great instructions 🙂 Greetings Lisa
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Thank you, Lisa, that makes me happy… Was in the forest yesterday and collected. Our wild garlic is feeling late this year. The leaves are still relatively small. In the evening I quickly made wild garlic soup with violets for us with friends. Everyone was happy 🙂 Greetings Thomas
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Hello Thomas, I tried this pesto for the first time. Tastes great! Thanks for the tips and perfect instructions. Greetings Martha
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Hello Martha, I'm glad to read about you here. I wish you continued success! Kind regards Thomas
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Homemade pesto is simply the best thing to serve! 🙂 Whether with wild garlic or other great herbs
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Hello Ninchen, thank you for your feedback, that's exactly how I see it, the green sauce is just a real pleasure. Try the carrot green pesto when you get a chance. –> Really exciting! I wish you a nice Easter and continued success 🙂 Greeting Thomas
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Super Thomas, I've just harvested wild garlic leaves and I'm amazed at the many walkers who walk past the fragrant wild herbs. I made your herb sauce last year and now is the time to do it again. Because it tastes so good following your instructions, I send you compliments, praise and stars!
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Hello Blatthexe, Thank you for your nice lines. am pleased. I've just set up my newsletter, if you want cooking ideas in your inbox once a month just sign up for free! Kind regards and good luck Thomas
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Hello chef Thomas Sixt! Your wild garlic pesto is delicious, I made it yesterday and we all loved it. Thanks for the tips from your kitchen! Kind regards Edith
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Hello Edith, I will answer you very quickly as well. I am also happy about your message and the positive feedback. I hope the pesto will bring you joy for a few more days. Stop by again, you can also send me cooking questions, which I will answer as soon as possible. Kind regards Thomas
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Hello Thomas, The wild garlic is already here! I just found and harvested my first wild garlic. The wild garlic pesto according to your recipe is already in the glass. It worked out great and I'm already looking forward to dinner. Thank you for the fully developed instructions and the many photos. That's really great! Greetings from Stuttgart from Danny
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Hello Danny, Thank you for your feedback and the praise. That makes me happy. Today seems to be wild garlic day because this is the second of three comments. Stay tuned and diligently harvest wild garlic and cook delicious 🙂 Greetings Thomas
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Mega DELICIOUS, I used your instructions for the first wild garlic today and I'm happy. The pesto tastes so fine and is already a pleasure on the bread! What do you like to combine with it? Greetings Karl Heinz from Brandenburg
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Hello Heinz, thank you for your feedback. I was already in the forest and looked for the new wild garlic. The first, young leaves are always particularly fine and have a pleasant taste. Anyway, thanks for your positive message. In addition to the wild garlic pesto, I like wild garlic soup and at the beginning of the wild garlic season I like to add very finely chopped wild garlic leaves to my mashed potatoes . Herb soup will definitely be on the table again this year for Easter. I particularly like that. Also because of the baked egg ! Kind regards and good luck!
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Otherwise I'm only used to (if I admit it) cheap pesto from the supermarket. My friend has now persuaded me to make it ourselves and we chose your recipe for it. Great choice and great result – thank you, thank you, thank you! I've really never eaten such delicious pesto… Do you have any more pesto recipes?? 😀 Kirsten
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Hello Kirsten, I'm really happy about that, I'm looking for wild garlic every week and soon there will be wild garlic oil on the side. I wish you continued success. Kind regards Thomas
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Hellooooo. It all sounds damn delicious and will be tried. What cheese can I use instead of Parmesan? Hard cheese is dabu for me. May only eat young cheese. I look forward to an answer and wish you a happy Easter.
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Hello Siegrun, you can simply leave out the cheese and balance out the quantities with more nuts. Why can't you eat hard cheese? Pecorino is sheep's milk and usually well tolerated. Greetings Thomas
Absolutely delicious, perfectly successful and 100% recommendation! Greetings Prater