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How To Make Wild Garlic Pesto

Learn how to make this easy, quick and DELICIOUS wild garlic pesto aka. ramson pesto with a perfect consistency (not completely pureed).
Prep Time30 minutes
Total Time30 minutes
Course: condiment, dip, Sauce
Cuisine: European
Keyword: condiment, gluten free, how to, pesto, ramson pesto, ramsons, wild garlic, wild garlic pesto
Servings: 1 liter (5 1/2 cups) Pesto
Author: Ester | esterkocht.com

Equipment

  • Food processor, blender or mortar

Ingredients

  • 400  g (14 oz) wild garlic leaves
  • 50 g (1/3 cup/ 2.7 oz) pine nuts
  • 75  g (1/2 cup/ 4 oz)  sunflower seeds
  • 75 g (1/2 cup/ 4 oz) pumpkin seeds
  • 150 g (1 1/2 cup/ 12 oz)  Parmesan cheese grated
  • 500 ml (2 ¼ cups/ 16.9 oz)  olive oil plus extra to cover pesto extra virgin
  • sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Instructions

  • Begin by cleaning wild garlic. Simply place wild garlic in a sink and rinse the wild garlic leaves thoroughly under cold running water to remove the dirt. Shake the leaves to remove excess water. Then place wild garlic in a large colander to drain.
  • Switch on the oven, with convection bake function on and preheat to 60 °C (140 °F). Then pat dry wild garlic leaves with paper towels. Place them on a baking sheet and dry in the oven for 5 about minutes. Turn wild garlic leaves halfway. Repeat the process. I have divided wild garlic into three parts and did this three times.
    - This step is very important, because you want to use dry wild garlic leaves to the pesto, otherwise this will make the pesto watery and this may cause it to go bad fast due to high water content in it. Putting wild garlic in the oven is also important, because it protects the color and gets rid of the bitternes.
  • In the meantime, toast the seeds and nuts on stove-top. Simply place the pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds and pine nuts in a pan without oil and toast them over medium heat, until lightly brown. Be careful not to burn the seeds. Transfer the toasted seeds and nuts to a plate and let cool.
    Toasting the nuts gives the pesto an extra fine nutty flavor.
  • Finely chop dried wild garlic leaves and set aside. Cutting wild garlic into small pieces is very important. In this way wild garlic unfold itself.
  • Put the toasted seeds & nuts in a large bowl with a bit of oil. Using a hand blender, blend the nuts until smooth, while adding olive oil slowly. Remove the hand blender and add finely chopped wild garlic leaves. Put the hand blender back and then switch it on. Slowly move it up and down for a couple of times.
  • Once you have reached your preferable pesto consistency, fold in Parmesan cheese and season with salt and pepper. Serve with pasta or whatever you like.
  • Fill the remaining pesto into jar and cover with olive oil, so that pesto won’t come in contact with air. Cover tightly and chill.