Wild Garlic Pesto
What you will need:
Blender or Food processor
Fine Zester
Sterilised glass jars.
One of my first big forages of the year is wild garlic. I absolutely love the stuff. Its free, its good for you and there are plenty of recipes for it, such as soups, oils, ferments, purees or even just wilt it down as you would with spinach.
Here we are making a Pesto. There is always room for your own interpretation, however this is quick, easy & fool proof! A Variation I love is doing a 4:1 ratio of wild garlic & fresh garden mint. I am lucky to have garden mint at home, store bought is also perfectly fine.
When picking the leaves, which can be found in marshes, wetlands and ancient woods, ensure to leave the root in and only take as much as you need. Take care when washing and picking the leaves, firstly so that there are no bugs or random leaves, but also if you pick the stems & flower buds off, you will end up with even more wild garlic product to play around with - which I will show you in future recipes.
Ingredients
500g wild garlic leaves picked & washed
200g Lightly toasted walnuts. (If using pine nuts or hazelnuts use 250g)
150ml good quality extra virgin olive oil
Zest & juice of one lemon. (lemons can vary in size & juice yield. If you have a big juicy Lemon, start with half the juice and add more as you see fit. Equally with smaller lemons, do not be afraid to slice open another one).
Salt & Pepper to taste
125g of Finely grated Parmesan or plant based hard cheese (optional). If you want more depth & umami punch, by all means add the cheese. This recipe was developed to have enough texture, flavour & punch to not need this addition.
Method
Start by gently toasted your nuts at 160c for 8-14 mins, depending in the Nut. Be wise not to toast them too hard as the harsh taste will be prominent in the pesto later.
Once the nuts are out, turn your oven to 100c. Place your clean glass jars for the duration of the recipe.
Roughly chop your picked & washed leaves and place them in a food processor. If you prefer a smoother, creamier pesto I would recommend using a Blender instead.
Zest your lemon until completely white, be sure not to press too hard on your zester so you do not grate the piff, which will be very bitter. Then 1/4 and de-seed them and squeeze the juice out. (If you have a reamer, then you only need to half the lemon).
By this point, your nuts should have cooled, add them to the food processor along with your olive oil (and parmesan if you like) and a touch of salt and pepper.
Blend. stop half way through and give it a taste. Adjust the seasoning, add more lemon if needed. If it's too acidic, you can add some more olive oil. If it's too salty and if you have some spinach in the fridge, that will help.
Your jars will now be sterile. Let them cool, before placing your pesto inside, fridge your pesto and enjoy for up to a month.
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