This ramp chimichurri also known as wild garlic green sauce, salsa verde, or simply the most delicious garlicky thing ever made, is a spring must-have.
I am a huge fan of cooking with what is in season. And even though I don’t have a garden of my own, I always try to take from nature what is possible. A co-worker of mine has ramps growing all around their house, so I had the one in-a-billion chance of getting a huge bag of these fragrant little leaves. An amount that would cost hundreds at the market.
Wild garlic is the perfect base for any condiment or sauce that you would add regular garlic. And the green color just makes it even better!
Ingredients
I made a pretty large batch of this chimichurri, split it into ice cube trays, froze it, and placed it in a freezer ziplock bag. This will give you plenty of chances to use it for any food you would like. Wild garlic sauce is a flavor bomb to keep in the freezer for many meals.
To make wild garlic chimichurri, you will need:
- Wild garlic – ramps
- Red onion or shallots
- Fresh lime juice
- Red wine or sherry vinegar
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Red chili flakes, any chili pepper works, you can use your favorite
- Fresh cilantro
- Fresh parsley
- Fresh ground pepper, I like to use a mix of black, white, and pink peppercorns
- Salt
- A few ice cubes, if using a blender or a food processor
Instructions
Just like traditional chimichurri, this wild garlic chimichurri can be made in several ways. Use a mortar and pestle, a food processor, or a blender. For a large batch, I chose the food processor. If you make any sauce or condiment using fresh herbs in a blender or a food processor, add a few ice cubes so the heat of the blades doesn’t make the greens go brownish. This is a tip used by some chefs around the world.
To make the chimichurri just add all the ingredients in the container and blitz together. Do a taste test for salt once done. This can be made into any consistency you like. Longer blending time will give you smoother sauce with less chunks. Less blending will give you chunkier wild garlic chimichurri.
After you are done with the chimichurri, it is time to make good use of it. Top some focaccia dough with it, chicken breasts, grilled steak or shrimp. The applications are endless.
Substitutions
Cilantro – not a fan? Just double up on the parsley
Chili – add paprika flakes instead if not looking for a little kick in your sauce
Top tips
Whenever making fresh herb oil, pesto, wild garlic chimichurri, salsa verde, or any condiment with fresh herbs in a blender or food processor, add a few ice cubes. This way the heat of the blades won’ make the sauce go brown-ish. It will keep the vibrant green color.
My favorite way of serving this magnificent green and flavorful condiment is topping grilled meats. This was a supermarket steak, mediocre in its quality and taste, but seared to medium rare and topped with wild garlic chimichurri it became a decadent meal.
Wild garlic chimichurri
Equipment
- Food processor
Ingredients
- 200 g ramps / wild garlic
- 20 g fresh cilantro
- 20 g fresh parsley
- 2 red onions
- 1 tsp chili flakes
- 50 ml sherry vinegar
- 50 ml fresh lime juice
- 200 ml extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tsp salt
- 2 tsp fresh ground pepper
- 3 ice cubes
Instructions
- Roughly chop all of the ingredients
- Add to the food processor and blitz together
- Check for salt and adjust for your own liking
Notes
- You can swap red onions for shallots.
- Sherry vinegar can be replaced by red wine vinegar.
- Amount of chili is up to you.
FAQ about ramps – wild garlic
What parts of wild garlic are edible?
The whole bulb and leaves are edible.
Is wild garlic endangered?
Wild garlic is considered an endangered plant in northern Europe and can only be picked for self consumption, but the bulbs must be left in the ground.
What recipes are good for ramps?
Any sauce that has garlic, stir-fries, salads, sandwiches and much more.
Is wild garlic healthy?
100g of wild garlic leaves contain 45mg of vitamin C and almost 5mg of beta-carotene.
This makes it a healthy green.
Nutritional info from here.
Storage tips
Once the ramp chimichurri is made, it can be stored in many ways.
You can keep it in an air tight container for up to one week in the refrigerator.
Freeze it in silicone ice cube trays and pop into a ziplock bag. This will make further use a breeze.
While this wild garlic sauce can be used in many ways, try these recipes too:
