A spring that lasts: Recipe for year-round wild garlic paste

Spring is here – and with it whole fields of wild garlic in the woods. This spring plant is very useful in cooking: wild garlic in risotto, spätzli, soup, but also in butter, salt or oil, and in many other recipes.

You can also make wild garlic paste to add to your dishes and have it on hand all year round. For example, the paste can be used as a base for pesto or as a seasoning for different dishes with garlic.

Picking wild garlic – what should you think about?

In many places, wild garlic grows in fields or in the shade in the hollow of leafy trees. A wild garlic harvest can therefore ideally be combined with a seasonal walk in the forest. Therefore, there are a few points to consider (which also apply to the harvesting of other wild plants) :

• Choose the harvesting point carefully. To find plants with as little pollution as possible, keep at least 50 metres from busy roads or fertilized farmland. On popular trails, it is best to pick plants slightly off the common track. This reduces the risk that x number of dogs have already urinated on them.
• Don’t harvest everything. Wild garlic spreads so quickly that it is almost impossible to harvest everything. Nevertheless, you should only harvest as much as is necessary so that the plants can continue to reproduce and the next hiker can also enjoy them.

Beware: wild garlic look like autumn saffron and lily of the valley and both plants are poisonous. The easiest way to make sure you are picking what you are looking for: rub a leaf between your fingers. If it smells strongly of garlic, it is a ramson and you are safe.

You can find more information on harvesting and using wild garlic in the garden journal.

Recipe for wild garlic paste

Wild garlic should be processed as fresh as possible. It is therefore best to start preparing it immediately after returning home.

How-to

With a blender

1. Mix the wild garlic, oil and salt in the blender until a fine paste is obtained.
2. Pour into clean glasses.

Without a blender

1. Cut the wild garlic into as fine pieces as possible with a sharp knife.
2. Mix it with the oil and the salt until the salt is dissolved.
3. Pour into clean glasses.

Don’t forget to label! It is best to keep the paste in a cool place (in the cellar or refrigerator).

We wish you a lot of fun picking, preparing and tasting the wild garlic!