Wild Garlic Pesto

My brother-in-law picked too much wild garlic so brought us some and I had no idea what to cook with it. Usually we use it with chicken but Joe was going away for a couple of days so I needed to make something that would last. Wild garlic pesto seemed the obvious option but having made it I wasn't sure. It was so garlicky that my taste buds were blown slightly and I love basil pesto so much this didn't seem to quite live up to it. But then I made my supper with it and it was tasty and amazing and now I'm really pleased to have it in my fridge for making things exciting when I can't be bothered to cook properly!

The recipe is taken from Sarah Raven's Garden Cookbook and I'm going to put my pasta recipe below it, which looks really unexciting but was in fact incredibly yummy with this pesto. I'm not sure how long it will keep for but I'm assuming quite a while as long as you keep it sealed tightly and covered with olive oil.

Wild Garlic Pesto

For a large jar:

2 handfuls (about 100g) of wild garlic with leaves and flowers
200ml extra virgin olive oil, plus a bit more for sealing
50g pine nuts or walnuts
2 garlic cloves, peeled
50g Parmesan cheese, grated
Salt and black pepper

1. Check there are no snails on your wild garlic. Blanch the wild garlic leaves in boiling water for about 10 seconds. Refresh in cold water and pat dry on kitchen paper.

2. Put the wild garlic, olive oil, pine nuts/walnuts, together with the garlic cloves, into a food processor and blend to a puree.

3. Transfer to a bowl and mix in the grated Parmesan and season carefully.

4. Put into a sterilised jar and pour a little extra olive oil over the top to seal, cover tightly.

Wild Garlic Pesto Pasta with Feta and Tomatoes

Serves 1

100g dried pasta, I use gigli
1/3 block of feta, cubed
2-3 vine ripened tomatoes
1 small tin of tuna in brine, drained
1 tbsp Wild Garlic Pesto
Salt and black pepper

1. Put the pasta on to cook in salted water.

2. Cube the feta, slice the tomatoes and drain the tuna.

3. When the pasta is cooked drain it and return it to the pan. Stir through the pesto and then the remaining ingredients.

4. Season with salt to taste and a lot of black pepper.