It is wild garlic season here and it is possible that we have gone a bit overboard. We went to a presentation at the pub a few weeks ago about foraging wild plants and came away from it with the ability to confidently recognize exactly one plant -- wild garlic. So when we discovered it growing in great swathes along the path to Capezzano Monte, naturally, we lost our heads.

After our initial brief foray, we went back yesterday with bags to get more and then spent the rest of yesterday afternoon washing it and then making wild garlic pesto, which was delicious and quite zippy. We have many other plans -- wild garlic risotto, wild garlic focaccia, wild garlic frittatas, wild garlic pickles. There are so many options! And it is good that we have all this cooking to keep ourselves entertained here at home, because the consumption of this much wild garlic will likely mean that we are exiled from the larger society for quite some time to come. 

At least we have each other.

Wild Garlic Pesto

Clean and wash the garlic, trim off the roots, and cut off the white parts at the bottom (save these for the pickles, below). Chop the long green stems roughly and then put them in the food processor. Add a generous amount of olive oil. Blend and then start adding chunks of excellent parmesan cheese, lots of pine nuts and a bit of salt. Continue to add olive oil as needed. Taste frequently to get the balance of flavors that you prefer. You can add a bit of lemon juice if you would like. Serve over pasta or with anything else that needs a little zip. If you eat this alone, you must stay alone afterwards for the good of the community. If you eat it with someone else, you must be truly committed to a life together with just each other. At least for a while.

Wild Garlic Pickles

Sterilize some jars by boiling them in water for ten minutes. While that is going on, make a brine of one cup sugar, one tablespoon salt, one and a third cups apple cider vinegar, and two thirds of a cup of water and bring it to a boil. When the jars are sterilized, while they are still warm, put some mixed (black, red, white and green) peppercorns and some mustard seeds in the bottom of each jar. Then take the white garlic stems saved from above and pack them into the jars. Pour the boiling brine over and close the jar. Let sit for at least two weeks before tasting. Refrigerate after opening. Hopefully, these will neither taste terrible nor poison us. I guess we'll know in two weeks.