All the ingredients for wild garlic pesto

I was so excited when I spotted wild garlic for sale (£1 each) at the Sunday Farmers Market this weekend – so of course had to buy two bunches. I love supporting local shops and markets but I felt a bit guilty having just returned from Croatia, where foraging is an everyday pastime. Apparently wild garlic can be found in Highams Park and I’m guessing a few other green places in the Stow – maybe next year I’ll go foraging for my own wild garlic.

I used both bunches of wild garlic in this pesto, imitating a version I bought from Cannon & Cannon, an artisan British charcuterie and cheese shop in Brixton, a couple of weeks ago. It works great on toasted ciabatta for bruschetta or garlic bread, is lovely stirred through pasta, or use to flavour meat, roast vegetables and risottos.

You need:

2 bunches of wild garlic, washed
60g Parmesan cheese
35g Pinenuts
100g Rapeseed oil
100g Olive oil
Juice of half a lemon
Salt and pepper

Method:

Grate the parmesan using a food processor. Change to the mix/chop setting, add all the rest of the ingredients except the oils and blitz until smooth. Slowly add the oils to the mix and stir through until you have a smooth consistency you are happy with. Spoon into a jar and keep in the fridge for up to two weeks.  Enjoy, but don’t kiss anyone unless they came for dinner!

Wild garlic pesto sauce