It was a beautifully sunny day and we set off with Dermot (http://forageireland.com/) from the White House along Glas-na-braden Glen. With a promise of ‘plenty of wild garlic’ in the glen even Dermot was surprised when the smell of garlic greeted us – the Glen is full of garlic and at this time of year the smell is unbelievable! Everywhere we looked, we could see the pretty white flowers of the wild garlic – and a taste test of the leaf and the flower confirmed what we already know – we didn’t need to worry about getting enough wild garlic for our pesto!
We continued our walk along the glen while Dermot pointed out some other edible goodies including sorrel (a favourite with some) to dandelion leaves (not so popular!)
We returned to the White House for some light refreshments while Dermot demonstrated the recipe – a simple combination of nuts, oil and cheese along with the foraged wild garlic created a pungent marinade – ideal for pasta or chicken.
Everyone then got an opportunity to create their very own wild garlic pesto – which they were able to take home to share with the family!
A wonderful, informative morning – special thanks to Dermot for making this event so enjoyable.
This event was funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund and is just one of a programme of events between now and October. For more information see http://biodiversityni.com/wild-about-food-3.
