Basic Pesto Recipe
Pesto, or pesto alla genovese, is a sauce originating in Genoa, the capital city of Liguria, in Italy. It traditionally consists of crushed garlic, European pine nuts, coarse salt, basil leaves, and a hard cheese, such as Parmigiano-Reggiano or Pecorino Sardo, all blended together with olive oil. Pesto means "to pound" or "to crush", which is a reference to the original way of preparing the dish - in a pestle and mortar. This is also where the word pestle comes from! Pesto is traditionally added to pasta, but the bright green paste has a broad range of uses, from flavouring soups, stews and other dishes, to one of Arthur's favourites - being served on toast topped with melted cheese! In this basic recipe, we substitute Basil with a suitable wild alternative, such as Wild Garlic, Garlic-Mustard, Chickeweed or Nettle.
Ingredients
Prep Time: 10 Minutes
Cooking Time: None
Quantity: Makes a 350ml Jar of Pesto
- 100g of Wild foraged greens.
- 50g Grated Italian Hard Cheese, such as Paremsan or Parmigiano-Reggiano.
- 50g of Nuts - Traditionally Pine Nuts are used, but Hazelnuts, walnuts or unsalted Cashews will do.
- 2 Garlic Cloves (if using Wild Garlic, these aren't required!).
- 1 tbsp of Fresh Lemon Juice.
- Lemon Zest (to taste).
- Olive Oil - as much as required for your desired consistency.
- Salt and Pepper to taste.
Method
- Wash, drain and roughly chop the wild foraged greens
- Add the foraged greens and garlic cloves to a food processor and blitz until fine.
- Add the nuts, lemon juice, and lemon zest, and blitz again until blended.
- Add the Italian hard cheese and blitz again, gradually adding olive oil until the mixture is at your desired consistency.
- Add a few grinds of salt and pepper to taste.
- Transfer to a jar and store in the fridge. Consume within 7 days.
