Wild garlic pesto from non-traditional ingredients
It is wild garlic season and I wanted to make pesto with it. Pesto is traditionally made with basil, Parmesan, lemon, olive oil and pine nuts. I didn’t have lemons, Parmesan, pine nuts or basil but these were all fairly easy to swap out, and the result is a deep green, garlicky nutty spread I am finding delicious to put on everything savoury – toast, pasta, gammon, couscous, poached eggs…
This recipe for wild garlic pesto also includes nettles, but you can leave those out if you would like. If you have Parmesan, you can add about 50g after blending the garlic and nuts. Also, you can leave the Parmesan out, and keep this recipe suitable for vegans!
Not-pesto wild garlic pesto recipe
Four cups chopped wild garlic leaves
1 cup cooked nettles
500g toasted cashews, sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds
One bulb of garlic, roasted
Juice of two limes
Olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Blend the garlic, nettles and nuts in a food processor, adding oil gradually to make a paste. Blend in the roasted garlic. Add the lime juice and salt/pepper to taste.
This may not be pesto, but it is very tasty. Because the wild garlic season is so short, it might be a good idea to make a big batch and freeze some for later in the year.
kellymariemcewan 