Foraging Wild Garlic and Recipes
- victoria ward
- Feb 8
- 3 min read
Updated: Feb 9
Nothing quite says 'spring' as emphatically as the appearance of the delicious Wild Garlic (Allium ursinum) on the woodland floor. This Ancient Woodland Indicator is one of our most highly prized wild foods, find it on any self-respecting chef's menu, trendy, healthy and so, so tasty!
Wild Garlic is in this February's foraging guide as the freshest, sweetest new leaves have just emerged, once Wild Garlic has arrived there are several months worth of usage as a culinary ingredient from leaves through to seed heads.
Wild Garlic grows in ancient woodland and appears during February with small green leaves that are soft and distinctly garlicky when rubbed. These steadily grow in a mass throughout spring filling the woodland air with garlic scent. Take care to identify correctly, the smell is key but be aware of spring bulbs like snowdrop with the paler green leaves or bluebells. You may come across the leaves of Lords and Ladies which are toxic (see video). Crushing the leaves is the best test to identify.
Health Benefits of Wild Garlic
At this time of year, the detoxifying qualities of Wild Garlic are invaluable. This plant is an excellent blood purifer and can help boost the immune system as it adjusts to seasonal change. Wild Garlic has antibacterial, antiviral and anitfungal properties. As a source of nutrients, Wild Garlic is just as valuable being a rich source of vitamins A and C and the minerals calcium, iron, phosphorus, sodium and copper.
As for cardiovascular support, Wild Garlic is actually more effective at warding off high blood pressure than its relative garlic due to a containing a higher allicin content
Wild Garlic is excellent for improving gut health, it's antimicrobial action helps support the proliferation of good gut bacteria.
Cooking With Wild Garlic
Wild Garlic is a very versatile and delicious ingredient and there are many ways to use every part of it. It can be eaten raw or cooked and there are some simple ways to add it to your diet to get the health benefits including-
Wild Garlic Butter - chop fresh young leaves and whip into butter. Roll into clingfilm Sausage-like shapes, refrigerate or freeze. Use like you would garlic butter
Wild Garlic-infused Oil- Infuse chopped Wild Garlic leaves in olive oil for 1-2 weeks, strain and bottle. Warm infuse in double boiler for quicker results. Keep in clean bottle in the fridge for a month
Wild Garlic-infused Vinegar - chop and infuse in cider vinegar for 1-2 weeks
Simply use as a chopped herb to add to dishes - goes well with eggs, chicken, roast vegetables, pasta, lamb and beef
Soups, stews and stocks- add extra flavour and health benefits to all these
Dips- add to your houmous or sour cream-based dips
Wild Garlic Mayonaise- blend chopped wild garlic leaves into mayo
Classic Wild Garlic Pesto
100g Wild Garlic Leaves
50g grated Parmesan Cheese
50g Hazelnuts, Pinenuts or any other gently toasted nut
Olive Oil
Lemon Juice to taste
Salt and Pepper
Blitz the washed leaves in a processor, add the parmesan and blitz some more
Add the nuts and oil and blitz to achieve desire consistency
Add lemon juice and season
Put in a clean, sterile jar and refridgerate for a couple of weeks
Wild Garlic Potato Rostis
2-3 Potatoes, peeled and coarsely grated
1 medium Egg
1 tsp Plain flour
1/4 tsp Baking Powder
1 small onion chopped
Handful of Wild Garlic Leaves finely chopped
Oil to fry
Salt and Pepper
Squeeze all excess liquid from potatoes
Mix in a bowl with egg, flour, baking flour, onion and Wild Garlic
Season well
Heat the oil whilst making four rostis, flattening them into firm shapes
Fry 5 mins or so each side until brown and crisp
Drain on kitchen roll
Jamie Oliver has a quite delicious Wild Garlic Pasta recipe which I have made many times, it is very good.
Also have a look at BBC Food Wild Garlic Recipes
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