Wild garlic pasta recipe – fresh pasta dough

I thought I’d tried every wild garlic recipe out there, until I discovered fresh wild garlic pasta! This is satisfyingly easy, squashing my fears that I’d end up with a gloopy mess. 15 minutes of fun, plus an hour cooling!

It’s 6th May, so wild garlic is still around, in full bloom. By the way, wild garlic is best picked in April, before the flowers are too developed. You’ll usually find it in shaded woodland near water, so keep an eye out for sweet little streams. Bluebell woods are often a good bet, as they like similar conditions and appear the same time of year. There’s no better time to enjoy beautiful woodland. Just breathe in that fresh nature scent, it’s so good for the soul! (read about the health benefits of walking in forests, or forest bathing).

I’d never tried making my own fresh pasta, so what better time to make it than wild garlic season! My husband thought we may end up with a gloopy mess, but my (naive?) optimism squashed any hint of hesitation. Hey presto – it turns out wild garlic pasta is surprisingly easy to make and oh so satisfying! I’d like to say I’ll never buy pasta again, but I’m probably kidding myself (not sure where I’d find the time, in between kids, work, dinner and making sourdough bread, kombucha, water kefir and yoghurt…).

The finished pasta has a superbly vibrant colour, a delicious texture and the wild garlic flavour is delicate, without the strong flavour you can get in pesto. To not detract from the flavour, we served the pasta in pure simplicity – just high quality, cold pressed olive oil, grilled salmon and a simple salad.

When searching for a wild garlic pasta recipe to follow, I found this great one from Great British Chefs.

To serve 4 people, here are the steps…

Wild garlic recipe – fresh pasta dough

You’ll need:

• 40g wild garlic leaves (no flowers)
• 2 eggs
• 2 egg yolks
• 300g 00 white flour (we only had plain flour, which worked fine)

 

Wild garlic pasta dough – do this:

1. wash the wild garlic leaves, pat dry, then finely chop.
2. Put the eggs, egg yolks and wild garlic in a food processor and blend to combine (you can do this by hand too).
3. Add the flour and blend until it’s the consistency of breadcrumbs.
4. Put the dough on a floured surface and knead 12-15 minutes. It will feel tough in the beginning, then get more elastic. You need to do this to keep the pasta together when cooking.
5. Place your now vibrant green dough in the fridge for an hour. Wrap it in something to keep the moisture. I used an empty cereal bag, but you could also use a beeswax wrap, cling film or anything else you have to hand. Try to make an eco choice 🙂
6. Once rested, roll out the dough thin on a floured surface. You need to make sure you’ve got plenty of flour under the dough, so it doesn’t stick. Cut it into strips or pass through a pasta machine. We used a pizza cutter and ruler to keep the lines straight!
7. Put a large pan of salted water on the boil, tip in the pasta and cook for 2 minutes. Drain and serve immediately, watching those delighted faces around you. Serve with a simple sauce, such as a creamy sauce or just a glug of quality cold pressed olive oil, and maybe a hint of lemon. Simple grilled fish, chicken and a nice salad would accompany this fine dish well.

More wild garlic recipes

If you’ve had a good wild garlic haul, do also try my recipe for wild garlic pesto and wild garlic salt. Just as wild garlic is in full bloom, elderflower appears. Elderflower cordial is simple, cheap and utterly amazing, so try out my recipe!

 

Next time you go hunting for wild garlic, elderflower, mushrooms or berries, have a trusted foraging bag from the chalkandmoss.com shop around your waist. The sturdy sash will keep the contents safe.