Wild Garlic Green Pesto
This recipe is a garlic lover's dream and, for me, a beautiful moment of nostalgia going back to my childhood, tending to the herb garden in my family home
I've grown up with green garlic, eaten it in all its stages, and have yet to find a green garlic recipe that doesn't please my palate. I love this pesto dolloped over a fried egg: one of my many guilty pleasures. Hard neck garlic plants are essentially garlic bulbs that are pulled out of the ground before they dry, when the skin becomes papery. You will most likely find them in speciality markets or Asian fresh produce markets. If you can't get hard neck garlic, just use the usual garlic bulbs, though you will need less as the flavour of garlic develops as the bulb dries. Equally, if you don't manage to forage for wild garlic you can easily replace it with spinach, chives and extra garlic cloves.
Makes
1–2 jam jars
Preparation time:
10 minutes
Ingredients
- 200g young heirloom wild hard necked green garlic plants
- 200g freshly grated parmesan
- 150g hazelnuts
- 100g wild garlic leaves
- 8 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tbsp white wine
- 1 lemon, juiced
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
Method
Prepare your green garlic plants by topping and tailing them. Discard the roots so you are left with the premature bulbs and tender green leaves. Wash the leaves and pat dry.
Put all the ingredients into a food processor and blend on a high speed until you achieve a uniform texture. Taste and season as required before removing from the food processor. Add more cheese for more creaminess or umami flavour. Add more wine or lemon juice for more acidity or to make it more piquant. Add more olive oil for a smoother blend.
Serve the pesto with anything you like – it’s great with pasta, roasted vegetables, flatbreads… in my humble opinion there’s no wrong way to eat green garlic pesto!
