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As a turkey hunter, I find myself in the woods at a great time of year! If you aren’t a turkey hunter, make sure you find your way into the woods, as there are all kinds of edible things to be found. As a not-so-effective turkey hunter, I typically spend many days in the woods, but that doesn’t mean I leave empty-handed.
Mushrooms are beginning to pop up, like morels, chicken of the woods, oyster mushrooms, and pheasant back (Dryad Saddle) mushrooms, just to name the ones I am familiar with. There are also many edible greens as well. Two of my favorite edible plants are ramps (Allium tricoccum) and garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata). Each is distinctly different, but both have a garlicky taste. One drastic difference is that ramps are more challenging to find and not nearly as plentiful.
Garlic mustard, on the other hand, is an invasive plant and can be found across many forest edges. Be cautious not to over-pick ramps as they are slow to mature and expand their footprint; however, feel free to pick as much garlic mustard as your heart desires! It is worth noting that both of these plants are early indicators of spring, and as June approaches, most ramps have gone dormant, and garlic mustard has fully matured. The younger garlic mustard leaves are less bitter, although mature garlic mustard leaves can still be great for this use.
To harvest the ramps and/or garlic mustard, I carry a mesh laundry bag about 14x16 inches in size. It’s a perfect size to carry a lot of mushrooms and/or greens, and it doesn’t take up much space or weigh much.
This recipe is very flexible. You can use ramps or Garlic Mustard. You can substitute cashews, almonds, pistachios, walnuts, pecans, hazelnuts, or even sunflower seeds for the pine nuts.
Prep Time: 10 mins
Yields approximately 2 cups of pesto, or 16 ice cube size portions.
Ingredients
- 4 cups of ramp and/or garlic mustard leaves
- ¾ cup parmesan cheese
- ¾ cup of extra virgin olive oil (may need more at the end if its thick)
- ¾ cup of pine nuts (toasted optional)
- 4-6 cloves garlic (minced)
- 2 tbsp. lemon juice (add more as needed to cut any bitterness)
- 1 tbsp. of kosher salt (to taste)
- pinch of black pepper (to taste)
Directions
Pulse everything in a food processor until everything is blended nicely. You may need a spatula to push down the edges to ensure that everything gets blended.
Eat right away. You could put it in a jar with a lid, and it should stay fresh for a week or two, or you can freeze it in an ice cube tray and wrap the cubes individually for use throughout the year. We’ve found that the pesto doesn’t lose much of its freshness when frozen and can actually have a milder, less bitter taste when thawed.
When thawing it, it’s best to allow it to thaw slowly on the counter; you can, however, thaw it in a microwave. Just be sure to have the cook power set to low.
We like to use this pesto on pasta, mostly with Alfredo-based sauces, but it works great on red sauce dishes as well. It adds richness and balance to those heavy Alfredo sauces.
Add a little extra oil to thin it out, and it is great on pizza! For a little extra flare, add it to an Italian lunchmeat sandwich. My son actually just eats it with tortilla chips. There are many ways to eat it. Enjoy!
--Wild Game Cook
