Wild Garlic Pesto
I find little else more comforting than homemade, fresh pesto. It goes with just about everything from your classic pesto pasta to hearty cheese on toast. I’ve even been known to add it to my mash. This pesto is made with wild garlic which you can find very easily - if you know where to look for it! I found mine in Leigh Woods, but it’s available all over Ashton Court, The Downs, etc. If you’re not in Bristol the top tip is that you can usually find it under a wooded area.
Ingredients
A good handful of wild garlic leaves
60g Parmesan, grated
Zest of half a lemon and a few squeezes of juice
60g pine nuts, lightly roasted
150ml Olive Oil
Salt
Black Pepper
Method
This is another super easy recipe to make. You basically just plop it into a blender. Still, if you don’t have one, I have managed this with a soup whizzer (that’s the technical name for it) although it is a lot messier. If you’re fancy and have a pestle and mortar, I have seen Jamie Oliver make his in that, it seems a lot more traditional… but we’re going for ease here.
Put the pine nuts onto a baking tray lined with parchment paper and lightly toast them under the grill for a couple of minutes until very lightly golden brown. They will catch and burn quickly, so do keep an eye on them.
Wash the wild garlic and chop roughly before putting it into the blender with all other ingredients apart from the olive oil, and blend!
Once a paste has formed in your blender slowly add the olive oil until you have a pesto-like consistency, you don’t want it to be too runny.
Enjoy! That’s it! Brag to your friends about your foraged wild garlic pesto you HAND MADE and put it in just about every dish from now onwards...
TOP TIP
My housemate’s mum makes her own pesto and pops it into little containers to freeze. Simply leave it out overnight before you use it, and you’ll always have fresh pesto!!
Written by Amy Howard
Hey everyone! My name is Amy Howard and I'm a photographer, food lover and wannabe Bake Off contestant. I live and work in Bristol and most weekends you'll find me in a restaurant or cafe either discovering somewhere new or returning to my all-time favourite spots in the city. I believe that life is about balance, which is the reason I run, to combat the effects of all the cake I find myself consuming...