This simple wild garlic risotto with Parmesan is a flavorful dish made with just a few ingredients and ready in about 30 minutes. The perfect dish to celebrate spring.
Another wild garlic recipe to help you make the most of the short season. This time a creamy wild garlic risotto, a wonderful twist on simple risotto. And if you still have some ramsons, try this wild garlic pull-apart bread or this chimichurri-style pungent wild garlic sauce; it's perfect for drizzling over meats or eggs. Or this addictive wild garlic butter.
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Where to find wild garlic?
Allium ursinum, also known as ramsons, bear's garlic, bear leek, or buckrams, is native to Europe and Asia, but it grows throughout North America, in the Eastern half of the United States, and on the West Coast. Depending on your area, its season is from April to June. You can pick it up in shady woods, hedgerows, marshlands, and fields.
If you cannot pick it yourself, you can buy it at the farmer's market or even in larger supermarkets at this time of the year. However, foraging yourself is worth it! Buying small bunches of the plant can get expensive, especially if you plan to preserve it as wild garlic paste or wild garlic pesto.
Every spring I make not only pesto or paste, but I cook a lot of wild garlic recipes as well. Have a look at these Green Crepes with Wild Garlic, Wild Garlic Soup, or Wild Garlic Hummus, you will love all these recipes.
To learn more about picking and cleaning wild garlic, read What to Do with Wild Garlic.
As always, when foraging, be 100% sure that you are picking the right plant and that what you pick is safe to eat.
Recipe ingredients
Rice: risotto rice like Arborio, Carnaroli or Vialone Nano. I use Arborio most of the time because that's the most common sort sold around here.
Wild garlic: a bunch of about 30-40 g/ 1-1.4 oz.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
How to make risotto with wild garlic?
Step #1: Cook the onion in butter until translucent, about 2-3 minutes, stirring often.
Step #2: Add the rice and stir well to coat it with the butter. Cook for about 2 minutes, stirring often, until the rice is slightly translucent.
Step #3: Pour in the white wine and let it bubble until evaporated; it will not take long.
Step #4: Start adding the simmering stock, a ladleful at a time. Only add the next ladle of stock when the previous one has been almost entirely absorbed by the rice.
Step #5: Wash the leaves thoroughly under hot running water and chop them finely.
Step #6: Continue adding stock to risotto and stirring often. The grains should be tender but still firm to the bite; they should not turn mushy.
Step #7: Once the rice is tender, add the cheese and the remaining butter. Stir well to melt.
Step #8: Add herbs and stir well again for about 1 minute until the leaves are slightly wilted. Adjust taste and drizzle with wild garlic oil if you have it.
Try more risotto recipes: Pea and Asparagus Risotto, Salmon Risotto, or Creamy Gorgonzola Risotto with Pumpkin.
Good to know!
Don't wash the rice; you will wash away most of the starches, and the risotto will no longer be creamy.
Wash the wild garlic leaves individually and very thoroughly, especially if you've picked them yourself in the woods. The leaves can always be contaminated with the cysts of the fox tapeworm, which can cause life-threatening diseases. These diseases often appear many years after consuming the contaminated plant.
Stand by while making the risotto and stir very often. I must admit I never stir it continuously, as always recommended (I don't have the patience for it). However, any risotto I've ever made was perfectly creamy and delicious.
Make sure you use homemade or low-sodium stock; otherwise, the dish will be too salty. It is better to adjust the taste with more salt at the end than to have an overly salted dish.
Don't skip the small amount of butter stirred into the rice at the end; it really makes a difference in taste and texture. The rice will be richer and creamier.
Recipe FAQs
Yes. Use vegetable stock and a vegetarian hard cheese instead of Parmesan.
Replace with the same amount of mixed fresh herbs to get a delicious herb risotto. Try parsley, chives, dill, rocket, tarragon, and basil. Don't forget to add grated garlic (to taste, but at least 2 cloves) during the last 5 minutes of the cooking time.
Any risotto is best served immediately.
However, you can refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container for 2-3 days.
Reheat in the microwave or in a small pot on the stove. When reheating on the stove, add a splash of stock and stir often.
This dish is not suitable for freezing.
How to serve?
You can serve the wild garlic risotto as a main dish or as a side. This amount (9 oz/ 250 g rice) will serve 2 or 3 as a main dish with a green salad or buttered peas. Or 4 as a side dish for meats or eggs, for instance.
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Wild Garlic Risotto
Ingredients
- 900 ml low sodium stock 4 cups, Notes 1 and 2
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter divided
- 1 shallot or ½ small onion
- 250 g risotto rice 1 ¼ cup, Note 3
- 125 ml dry white wine ½ cup
- one bunch wild garlic about 30-40 g/ 1-1.4 oz
- 50 g Parmesan or vegetarian hard cheese, ½ cup
- fine sea salt and ground black pepper
Instructions
- Heat the stock: Pour the stock into a jug pan and heat it on the stove. Turn the heat down to a minimum and keep the stock on the stove during the entire cooking process.900 ml low sodium stock/ 4 cups
- Cook onion: Finely chop the shallot or onion. Heat 1 tablespoon of the butter in a heavy-bottomed or non-stick pan. Cook the onion until translucent, about 2-3 minutes, stirring often.1 shallot + 1 tablespoon butter from 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- Add risotto rice, stir well, and cook for about 2 minutes, stirring often, until the rice is slightly translucent.250 g risotto rice/ 1¼ cups
- Pour in the white wine and let it bubble until it evaporates; it will not take long.125 ml dry white wine/ ½ cup
- Start adding the simmering stock, about one ladleful at a time. Only add the next ladle of stock when the previous one has been almost entirely absorbed by the rice. Continue adding the stock and stirring often until the rice is cooked through, about 25-30 minutes. The rice should be tender but still firm to the bite.
- Chop wild garlic: While the risotto cooks, thoroughly wash the wild garlic leaves under hot running water. Dry them well. Slice into ribbons or chop.one bunch wild garlic
- Grate the Parmesan and set it aside.50 g Parmesan/ ½ cup
- Add butter and cheese: Once the rice is tender, add the cheese and the remaining tablespoon of butter. Stir well to melt. Add the wild garlic and stir well again for about 1 minute until the leaves are slightly wilted.
- Adjust the taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper and serve sprinkled with more Parmesan if desired.fine sea salt and ground black pepper
Notes
- Vegetable or chicken stock, either homemade or bought. If using bought stock, make sure is good quality and low sodium. Otherwise, the risotto might be too salty.
- Amount of stock: You will need more or less the amount mentioned above, but it will depend on the rice, add as much as needed.
- Risotto rice: Arborio, Carnaroli or Vialone Nano, etc.
Karen says
I'm confused. I thought wild ONIONS have the flat leaves you show and wild GARLIC has round hollow leaves.
Adina says
That's wild garlic in the pictures. For sure.
mjskitchen says
Just went through all of your wonderful wild garlic recipes and now I am starving! They all look delicious and quite tempting. I'm especially drawn to this risotto and the bread. YUM! Now to hunt down some wild garlic. Thanks for the inspiration to try something new.