As soon as spring arrives German markets and groceries fill up with wild garlic products, or Bärlauch, as it is called here. In the past four years I have noticed an impressive increase in wild garlic dishes in restaurants too. Whether a food fad or real fashion this plant of the Allium family, formerly considered a weed to a certain extent, is a real pleasure to eat. Other bloggers certainly think so too: just have a look at Johanna's wild garlic gnocchi, Petra's risotto or Maki's ravioli.I was dying to prepare something wild-garlicky too, so I was really content as I managed to find some fresh wild garlic leaves for once (you don't eat the bulb of this plant).
The easiest thing you could do with these leaves, apart boiling or pan frying them and then eating them as vegetables, is to use them for a pesto with a twist (in the opening picture). I simply took my basic pesto recipe (you can find hundreds on the web) and substitute the basil with the wild garlic leaves and the pine nuts with almonds. I also clearly used no garlic whatsoever since the leaves themselves really need no further garlic aroma. 5 minutes work, plus the time to cook the pasta and you have a mouthwatering dish "guaranteed to impress" as they say on TV.
With the rest of my wild garlic catch I decided to have a go with ravioli, those on Maki's blog looked just so tasty. I used a basic recipe for ravioli agli spinaci, though a few more leaves would have helped get a somewhat greener filling. Yet, better for the flavor, since the amount of garlicky aroma and mellow ricotta balanced each other very nicely.
Wild Garlic Ravioli
egg pasta dough made with 300 g flour and 3 large eggs
a bunch of wild garlic leaves (about 1 1/2-2 cups), finely chopped
200 g ricotta drained as much as possible from the whey
1 large egg
50 g grated Parmigiano
salt, pepper and eventually bread crumbs
prepare the dough first and rest for at least 30 minutes.
Mix wild garlic, ricotta, grated cheese and egg together. Season with salt and pepper and check the consistency. The stuffing should be slightly moist but not wet to the touch, if needed add bread crumbs till it feels right. A wet stuffing will soften the dough of the ravioli and often result in them breaking apart while cooking.
Roll the dough as fine as possible, either with a rolling pin or a pasta machine, and cut into squares, about 5 cm in size.
Place about half a teaspoon of filling on every square, fold the pastry over and seal. You can shape these any way you want actually, but just folding along the diagonal will give some pretty triangular ravioli.
Cook in plenty of boiling water and remove as soon as they float to the top. Serve with melted butter and extra grated Parmigiano if you wish.
That looks so delicious! And you also must be a mind reader - or, more likely, since we live in the same country our grocery stores follow the same "fads".... I just spotted the first bunch of Bärlauch and the first thing that came to mind was pesto. But seing your ravioli, having a container of ricotta in the fridge and remembering there's a holiday comming up on Thursday and I'll have more time to play in the kitchen, the pesto will have to wait. Can't wait to try it out, thanks!
Posted by: Dana | May 02, 2005 at 06:57 PM
You're welcome Dana. Let me know how the ravioli came out.
Posted by: Alberto | May 03, 2005 at 10:41 AM
That looks delicious, Alberto! I wish I knew what wild garlic is called in French...I'll have to see if there's an entry in my Larousse gastronomique tonight!
Posted by: Meg | May 03, 2005 at 04:22 PM
Meg it should be called Ail sauvage or Ail des ours in French.
Posted by: Alberto | May 03, 2005 at 04:44 PM
sadly, i have not come across wild garlic in any markets, nor do i expect to. my gastronomical climes are slowly (but surely) inching their way up the educated palate ladder. God bless the rocky mountains for the fine wild greens, free range lamb, and the community of small scale farmers, but i had to pull teeth to convince some folks to grow baby lettuces. why do i not simply plant anything myself? here's the answer: i can kill mint. seriously.
so what do you folks suggest for someone who cannot get their hands on wild garlic but is sick of spinach to pair with ricotta?
Posted by: wasabi | May 05, 2005 at 07:43 PM
Wasabi, did you ever try rucola ? It's so frequently eaten as a salad, but it's just as good chopped up and sauteed for a couple of minutes in olive oil with some garlic.
Posted by: Dana | May 06, 2005 at 06:28 PM
Dana's is a good tip. Definitely try rucola (or as it is often called rocket). Otherwise,something which should be very similar to baerlauch and in season in the US are ramps. Any chance of finding those?
Posted by: Alberto | May 06, 2005 at 08:40 PM
I've tried arugula, nice bite, but I want more of that allium flavor, so I'll have to give ramps a try. They should be in our markets by the end of May.
Thanks guys!
Posted by: wasabi | May 07, 2005 at 12:23 AM
Hi Alberto - I'm drooling! Such a beautiful dish. I've never had wild garlic before and am very curious...
Posted by: keiko | May 08, 2005 at 01:44 PM
Thanks, Keiko. If you're curious about wild garlic you might want to try and see if you can find some at a farmer's market. A little time ago I discovered that the London Farmer's market (http://www.lfm.org.uk/) is supposed to have some, if the season is not over already that is.
Posted by: Alberto | May 09, 2005 at 11:52 AM
I'm really lucky. Wild garlic is very common here in Ireland, and there is literally tons of the stuff in the woods near where my mother lives. I've been meaning to cook with this for a while, and now that I see the delicious pesto recipe here, I'm going to try it out this weekend. I've noticed that the wild garlic is flowering round about now - do you know if this affects whether it can be eaten or not. What I mean is, when is wild garlic "in season" - or does it have a season??
Thanks again for the recipes!
Posted by: Brian | May 12, 2005 at 06:14 PM
Brian, I think the garlic that is sold is usually picked before it flowers. I've asked a few friends who pick their own and they told me it should still be, if only a little tougher than that picked before the flowers appear.
Ireland, woods, wild garlic... you made me realise how much I miss the Emerald isle!
Posted by: Alberto | May 12, 2005 at 10:53 PM
Hi Alberto - sorry for the late response. I go to local farmers markets regularly, but have never seen wild garlic. I'm sure you can find them at Borough market (which I love) though. I didn't know they're common in Ireland, Brian made me realise how much I miss the Emerald isle too! Hopefully I can try this wonderful recipe next season...
Posted by: keiko | May 22, 2005 at 10:22 PM
I tried wild garlic soup 2 weeks ago in a little restaurant near Neuremberg it was fantastic.
I guess the ingredients were chicken stock and wild garlic leaves but if anyone has a receipe I'd be happy to hear from them.
It is a delicacy not to be missed and I'm told doesn't leave a morning after affect on the breath.
Posted by: jeremy ferguson | May 27, 2005 at 04:24 PM
Jeremy,sorry for taking a while to reply. wild garlic soup can be made in a number of ways. I have one or two recipes from German books and they're pretty much a simple variation of spinach soup. They#re quite similar apart for the liquid amounts. Since I never tried either I guess you'll have to find out through testing: cook a finely chopped onion in a pan with oil or butter (2 Tbs); sprinkle with flour (1 Tbs) and stir till you get a light colored roux; add the wild garlic leaves and once wilted add chicken broth (or milk or even a mixture of the two; how much?one recipe says 500ml the other 1 liter); bring to a boil and let cook for two-three minutes, then take off the fire and puree with an immersion blender; season with salt and pepper and add a tablespoon of double cream per serving if you wish. Have fun cooking ;-).
Posted by: Alberto | May 30, 2005 at 10:33 PM
Hello Alberto
It happens I'm a white water kayaker and I live in Scotland so I'm always in the look for wild herbs on the river banks. I had noticed this garlicky smell before while paddling but it wasn't until recently that I saw the wild garlic flowers been sold at my local delicatessen that I decided to go and try some. The plants have been flowering for around a month and they are almost gone but they are delicious! if you want to try them raw in a salad be warned they are seriously powerful. Bye now.
Posted by: Gerardo | June 02, 2005 at 05:36 PM
Gerardo, thanks for the tip. Never had wild garlic raw before, but I'll definitely give it a chance next year: I love a good garlic kick.
Posted by: Alberto | June 03, 2005 at 10:57 PM
Heidelberg, Germany
April 5, 2006
Hello All,
I have a patch of Baerlauch in the garden - under and near deciduous trees. This wild garlic plant, which used to be considered a weed, and whose Latin name is Allium Ursinum, has become popular in Germany in the last few years. Now it is sold in the open markets and is prepared in a number of ways in the home and in restaurants. There is even a Baerlauch festival in nearby Eberbach.
There are many many Baerlauch recipes posted on the Internet - mostly in the German language- for pestos, soups, ravioli stuffings, .... recipes with fish and meat - and on and on....
For a quick lunch or snack I eat the leaves raw, wrapped around a chunk of soft cheese , or chopped and mixed into cream cheese - and then put on toast ....beware ... you will taste it for many hours afterwards ...
Mary Louise M-J
mlmjvdac@yahoo.com
Posted by: mlmj | April 05, 2006 at 11:55 PM
You can shred wild garlic leaves and use them like chives. Also the flowers are edible and delicious, if slightly sharp (in a garlicky kind of way).
Down here in Cornwall the lanes are positively swamped by wild garlic plants in among the nettles. Yesterday I made nettle soup and garnished it with wild garlic leaves and flowers - delicious.
Posted by: Jon | May 13, 2006 at 12:31 PM
I have grass like plants that smell like onions and are all over my yard. When I taste them when young they taste like onions.
Are these wild garlic plants?
Can these be eaten and used in cooking?
Are they safe?
I'm an old cook and need info.
Thank You........Michael
Posted by: Michael Ziegler | May 20, 2006 at 04:26 AM
Micahel, in my experience wild garlic smells unmistakeably of garlic and has a pungent almost hot taste. It could be another member of the Allium family, but I am no expert, so maybe someone else might chime in. Knowing approx. where you live and how the plants look like would probably also help.
Posted by: Alberto | May 20, 2006 at 03:24 PM
I had Barlauchsuppe mit Fleurons (wild garlic soup with croutons) in a restaurant called the Wild Rose in Bamburg. It was undoubtedly the best soup I've ever tasted (as was the rest of the food). I asked for the recipe, but alas, no one spoke English. It did not have potatoes. If anyone has a recipe, I'd really appreciate it (and is there any place in the USA where I can get Barlauch?
Posted by: John McConahy | June 12, 2006 at 02:02 PM
John, I don't know if there is any source for Baerlauch in the US. AFAIK it does not grow there and I am not aware of anyone growing it commercially. The closest thing in America is ramps, though I have read that the taste leans more towards onion.
Any more hints or details on that recipe? There are quite a few available in German so anything that narrows things down would help.
Posted by: Alberto | June 12, 2006 at 11:06 PM