Wild Garlic Pesto
We have all being spending more time outdoors in nature. The hedgerows are abundant with wild garlic. This is one of nature’s gifts to us & really is free food!
The whole of the plant can be used, the leaves, root & flowers. Not as strong as traditional garlic, add to dishes at the end of cooking to maintain its flavour or add the leaves & flowers to a salad.
Even though there is less traffic, still avoid picking your garlic from the road side to avoid contamination of car fumes!
I made a wild garlic pesto which is incredibly versatile. I have added it to soup, stirred in with pasta, drizzled over vegetables & fish, added it to my frittata recipe with chicken & mushrooms & also provides a wonderful twist for a chicken kiev!
Method
Lightly toast your nuts in a pan & set aside to cool. They should be just coloured & starting to release a little oil.
Wash your wild garlic & place in a food processor. Blitz together.
Add about half of the oil & lemon juice before blitzing again.
Gradually add the oil until you achieve your desired consistency. You may not need it all or you may need to add a little extra.
Add the nuts and gently blitz so you still have a nice crunchy texture.
Finally add your cheese & lemon zest before giving one last blitz.
Season with salt & pepper.
This will stay fresh in your fridge for 5 – 6 days or you can freeze in ice cube trays keeping the taste of spring fresh at your fingertips!
Ingredients
Couple of good hand fulls of wild garlic
Around 140ml Oil, I used olive oil but you can use sunflower, vegetable, rapeseed for a lighter taste
1 lemon, zest & juice
About 60g of finely grated parmesan
50g hazelnuts, or you can use pinenuts, almonds, walnuts or cashews