Wild Pesto
Let's make wild pesto! This version combines wild garlic, ground elder and young nettle tops.
It's delicious spread on toasted sourdough, stirred through pasta, added to a stew or spooned into soup. It also makes a wonderful pasta dish with broccoli and potatoes.
If you'd rather use only wild garlic, simply replace the ground elder and nettles with extra wild garlic. If you can't find any wild garlic, just use more ground elder and nettles instead.
When foraging, never confuse wild garlic with lily of the valley. Their leaves look quite similar, but lily of the valley is highly poisonous. Fortunately, wild garlic is easy to identify by its distinctive garlic scent.
If you're foraging in the wild, avoid picking close to busy roads and always wash your harvest thoroughly. When washing fresh nettles, use tongs or two spoons to avoid being stung. Once the nettles have been blanched, they lose their sting.
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Ingredients
• 1 generous handful of wild garlic leaves
• 1 generous handful of ground elder leaves
• 1 generous handful of young nettle tops (roughly – you probably won't want to hold fresh nettles in your hand!)
• 50g finely grated hard goat's or sheep's cheese (or Parmesan)
• 50g coarsely chopped hazelnuts
• 1 garlic clove
• 75ml olive oil
• 75ml rapeseed oil
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
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Method
Wash the nettles and blanch them in boiling water for 1 minute. Drain well and squeeze out as much excess water as possible.
Wash the wild garlic and ground elder leaves and leave them to drain in a colander.
Place all the ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend until you have a smooth pesto. Season to taste with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.
This recipe uses a mixture of wild plants, but you can just as easily make it with one or two of them. Try a pure wild garlic pesto, or make one using only ground elder or nettles.