wild garlic pesto

Here in our part of Northumberland Spring comes with the scent of Garlic.

Around our village are small areas of woodland which at this time of year, before the trees come into leaf, are carpeted with Wild Garlic plants. Brilliantly green with white flowers the smell as you walk past is intoxicating …

Pesto is one of those dishes whose ingredients can be varied with what you have at hand, something green, some nuts, garlic, lemon juice and an oil.

This was todays version adapted from one I found on the internet.
You’ll need :
Two or three handfuls of Wild Garlic
A small handful of walnuts
Half a cup of mature Cheddar cheese
A clove of Garlic
The juice of a Lemon
Salt, Pepper and 5 or six tablespoons of Olive Oil.

Peel, roughly chop or squeeze each ingredient as appropriate and put everything except the Olive oil into a blender.
Blend to a coarse paste, you’ll need to stop occasionally to scrape it down the sides. Taste it and adjust for flavour : I added another handful of Wild Garlic and a little more salt.
Finally finish by drizzling in the olive oil with the blender running.
Pop into a jar and it will keep for a few days in the fridge.