Sunday 12 May 2013

Sorrel Pesto




Readers of this blog know that I love pesto. I try all different kinds of ingredients and so far they've all turned out to be extremely tasty. Yesterday, I spent some me time having one of my weekend cookathons during which I prepared three different kinds of wild flower pesto: sorrel pesto, ground elder and dandelion blossom pesto.

2 large handfuls of sorrel leaves
1 small handful of freshly grated parmesan
1 small handful of roasted cashew nuts, chopped
1 garlic clove, squashed
freshly ground black pepper
sea salt
extra virgin olive oil as needed

Wash the sorrel, spin and combine with all the ingredients in a food processor or the beaker of a handheld mixer and blitz. Transfer into sterilised screw-top jars, top up with olive oil to seal and screw on the lid.

Dandelion Blossom Pesto

Readers of this blog know that I love pesto. I try all different kinds of ingredients and so far they've all turned out to be extremely tasty. Yesterday, I spent some me time having one of my weekend cookathons during which I prepared three different kinds of wild flower pesto, dandelion pesto, ground elder and sorrel pesto.


500 g dandelion flowers
1 small handful of freshly grated parmesan
15 roasted Brazil nuts, chopped
1 garlic clove, squashed
freshly ground black pepper
sea salt
extra virgin olive oil as needed

Wash the dandelions, spin and fry in olive oil for about 5 min. Combine all the ingredients in a food processor or the beaker of a handheld mixer and blitz. The amount of olive oil depends on how runny you want the pesto to be. I prefer it to be quite thick rather than excessively oily. 


Transfer into sterilised screw-top jars, top up with olive oil to seal and screw on the lid. The ingredients above resulted in approx. 600 ml of pesto. This pesto is quite rich so you need less of it than of other herb-based pesto varieties.


As one jar was only half full, we at it that night with spaghetti and scattered some more freshly ground parmesan and a few ground ivy blossoms over the top. It was to die for!

Ground Elder Pesto



Readers of this blog know that I love pesto. I try all different kinds of ingredients and so far they've all turned out to be extremely tasty. Yesterday, I spent some me time having one of my weekend cookathons during which I prepared three different kinds of wild flower pesto: ground elder pesto, sorrel pesto and dandelion blossom pesto.

2 large handfuls of ground elder
1 small handful of freshly grated parmesan
1 small handful of whole almonds, chopped
1 garlic clove, squashed
freshly ground black pepper
sea salt
extra virgin olive oil as needed

Wash the ground elder, spin and combine with all the ingredients in a food processor or the beaker of a handheld mixer and blitz. Transfer into sterilised screw-top jars, top up with olive oil to seal and screw on the lid.

Asparagus and Nettle Soup



As you'll have noticed from my other posts this spring, I've discovered foraging and am loving it. So there's a second idea for a nettle soup.

250 g nettle tops (top four leaves)
300 g green asparugs
3 shalots
1 garlic clove
freshly ground black pepper
sea salt
freshly ground nutmeg
1 l vegetable soup
150 ml soured cream
1-2 heaped tsp. flour
olive oil


If you like, fry a handful of the nettles, dry them on paper towel, lightly salt them and scatter them over the soup when serving.


Wash and spin the nettles. Bend the asparagus spears so they break at the woody part, wash and set aside. Cut the remaining asparagus into 1 cm pieces. Finely chop the shalots and garlic.

Heat some oil in a saucepan, sauté the shalots and garlic for  2 minute, mix in the asparagus, then add the nettles. Mix together, season with pepper and salt. Add the vegetable stock and bring to the boil. Place the asparagus tips into the inset of a steamer, close the lid and simmer the soup for 5 minutes. Place the asparagus tips on a plate to prevent further cooking. Blitz the soup. Dissolve some flower in a little cold water, add to the soup and bring briefly to the boil to thicken. Season with nutmeg, add the cream and check the seasoning. Divide into portions and add the asparagus tops.