Wild Garlic Pesto

March and April see the start of the wild garlic season.

You can usually smell it before you see it growing in hedgerows and woodlands.

We have some in a small (but growing) patch in the corner of a field in the shade. I’m going to make sure it doesn’t take over, as it can be prolific, but we have plenty for now.

The whole of the plant above the ground is edible.

The leaves are perhaps the most obvious place to start, but the flower and its long stem are also edible. (Try the flower dipped in batter and deep fried). The stem ranges from a white crunchy end nearest the soil to darker green by the flower, it also changes in flavour from sweet spring onion flavour a sharper garlic tang.

I’ve started my cooking attempts with a simple pesto recipe. Chopping and adding freshly picked garlic leaves to a salad can make quite a tangy sensation, but a fresh pesto on some hot pasta or some focaccia or pizza dough is quite indulgent.

You will need

2 Cups or Handfuls of Wild Garlic
1 Good handful of grated parmesan
1 Handful of pine nuts, hazel nuts or mixed nuts
Juice from 1/2 lemon
Salt and pepper
More olive oil than you think

I like to toast the nuts before using them. In a clean, dry frying pan place a layer of the nuts, just covering the surface and slowly toast. They don't take long at all, so stay near the pan and keep swishing them around so that they don't burn. Once they've cooled, you can add them to the rest of the ingredients.

The rest of the process is nice and simple, just chuck all the ingredients into a food processor or blender and whizz until combined. Judging the amount of oil required is a personal preference, but the mixture should not be too lumpy and should fall easily off a spoon.