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!

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!