Seasonal Cooking: Wild Garlic Pesto

Wild Garlic

A super Wild ingredient that is in season now can be used to great effect as a garlicky alternative pesto. A walk in a woodland area may take you past a chivy scented patch of this wonderful wild garlic. The leaves and flowers can be used and it makes a very tasty wild garlic soup. Do make sure if you are picking wild garlic that you don't confuse it with Lily of the valley which is highly poisonous.

Ingredients

2 big handfuls wild garlic- stems and even flowers included!
100 g Pine nuts (cashews, pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds work too)
2 Tbs Nutritional Yeast (Vegans) or 2tbs Parmesan or other hard cheese
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
2-3 Tbs Olive oil (Garlic infused would be good)

Method

* Roast the nuts gently on 150 degrees for about 15 mins and leave to cool
* Wash the wild garlic thoroughly to remove any trace of grit or dirt
* Roughly Chop the wild garlic and dry
* Push everything into a food processor and blitz.(Stop and scrape down the sides of the processor occasionally)
* Blitz until smooth- taste for salt
* Transfer to a glass jar & pour a little olive oil on top
* Keep in the fridge for 2 weeks -

Serving suggestions:
* Can put on Toast (especially toasted baguette)
* Add a generous spoonful to cooked and drained pasta (Fresh pasta is best but any pasta s good)
* Serve a dollop with grilled chicken or fish

Notes on one of the ingredients suggested for vegans:
Nutritional Yeast is a cheesy tasting product that can be sprinkled. It is made from a strain of yeast that is grown on molasses. It's high in B vitamins and makes a great alternative to parmesan cheese. It can be tolerated by those who have an intolerance to normal active yeast in Bread (Such as those on a candida diet)