pygmy

WILD GARLIC PESTO

Yum.

If you're east of the continental divide, or (I think) just about anywhere in Europe, you've probably seen these li'l guys pop up around your yard, when nothing else is growing in the winter. A lot of people hate the stuff, because apparently it's "unsightly" to have clumps grow when everything else is dormant.



Chances are, that's wild garlic. If it has a hollow leaf, and smells like garlic or onions, it is. No poisonous look-alikes share the characteristic smell. If you dig it up, sometimes you can even see tiny little cloves.

Dig some up somewhere away from major roads (2 decent-sized clumps should be plenty), wash it (no need to cut off the roots), toss it in a food processor with some cheese, pine nuts or almonds, olive oil and salt, and there ya go. Good spread on bread or tossed with some pasta. No need paying a few bucks for a tiny package of basil if you want to make your own pesto. If you're adventurous, and know what it looks like, toss in some watercress too.

If you've never eaten any wild edibles you've collected yourself, you really should. Wild garlic is pretty much fool-proof to identify. Most people taste dandelions and then are put off on wild foods forever (myself, i really don't like dandelions. there are much better greens out there. sure, if you blanch them, etc., they're more palatable, but if you go through all that trouble, you might as well plant something you actually like... My favorite winter/early spring green is arugula, for instance.)

Do it. C'mon.