Wild Garlic Pesto

 (To be read in the stage-whisper tones of a David Attenborough voice-over...) "It's the hunting season for the elusive wild garlic down at the Cwm. I have to track it and snip it before the bluebells get mixed up in it, then, blitz the yummy out of it.

So off I set on the expedition, armed with scissors and colander, my ferocious and SAS trained hunting dog at my side, to track the Wild Garlic.

It wasn't too long before Flapjack captured his prey. 

Or rather, sat on it.

We had tracked a good crop, destined to become a jar of pesto."

Actually, elusive May be slightly the wrong word. Because this stuff is EVERYWHERE in our little Welsh valley. The whole forest is carpeted with the fragrant foliage. But I am keen to harvest some before the bluebells come up through the woods too. When both are in full flower together there is an incredible wash of blue and white. The garlic flowers are edible too, so I am currently thinking up as many ways as I can to sneak them into dinners so that Phil will hardly notice that he is eating weeds, when there is perfectly good bacon in the freezer.

Anyway ... Here's the recipe for wild garlic pesto.

A really big bunch of leaves, rinsed.

A bag of pine nuts. No idea of the actual weight. They usually live with the sunflower seeds and walnuts in the supermarket.  (All I know is they are flippin' pricy little things, but worth buying for the sake of pesto.)

Large glug of olive oil. Probably around 1/4 pint.

Hmm. Apologies to the precise people reading this. I find I am unhelpfully vague when it comes to home made recipes. Just experiment. It'll taste amazing!

Anyway ... Blitz it all up together. Job done.

At this stage you can add a couple of handfuls of grated Parmesan, but omit if you are a dairy free-er.

I pop it straight into sterile jam jars. It keeps for ages. Once opened, keep it in the fridge. 

"But Marie-Anne!" I hear you cry.

" where oh where do I get wild garlic when I don't exactly live in a forest that has it growing everywhere?"

To which I reply, "Fear not, my foodie-friend. You can do the same thing with a big bunch of basil or Spinach and add a clove of garlic to the blitz. Alternatively, come over for a foraging visit and you can take a great big bag of wild garlic home with you. I'll lend you the dog as a tracker.