As spring finally starts, the herbs in the garden are starting to come to life. But if you venture a little further out you can find woodlands bursting with wild garlic. I recently posted a pic on instagram of the making of wild garlic pesto and was asked by a few people for the recipe. The great thing about pesto is that you don’t really need a recipe! All you need is a great tasting herb (or green veg or salad leaf), some nuts or seeds, maybe a bit of grated parmesan and some good quality olive oil (never use cheap stuff, your pesto will suffer!).
So for the wild garlic pesto shown here I added a handful of hazelnuts and sunflower seeds to a food processor then broke those down before adding loads of wild garlic (leaves and flowers, both are fine), then a bit of parmesan, pulse again before adding a squeeze of lime juice and add olive oil while the machine is running, until you have a consistency you like – simple.
The trick is to use your favourite ingredients and keep tasting as you go along. And if you have a lot of watercress, rocket, cress or anything green that needs to be used up – think pesto!
Manchego Toasts with Chive Pesto
Cheese on toast is one of those simple snacks that I just crave when travelling in a country where only rich, spicy food is available. One of my favourite recipes was chutney or pickle under the cheese, but this sharp-tasting pesto has now become the star!
20g chives
30g parsley
50g blanched almonds
100ml extra virgin olive oil
½ tsp freshly milled black pepper
4 slices walnut bread
100g Manchego cheese, grated
- Place the chives, parsley and almonds in a food processor and blend until completely broken down.
- Add the olive oil and pepper and process again until well blended.
- Toast the bread on one side. Spread the untoasted side with pesto and cover with grated cheese.
- Grill for 2-3 minutes, until bubbling and golden.