Are you ready to make and eat some very wild pesto? Great! This recipe, is such a wild recipe, becuase the main ingredient is very likely to grow around the corner from your house.. in the wild! Did you know there are a lot of plants and ‘weeds’ (hate that word) you can actually eat? And you can’t just eat them, they are nutritious, delicious and often have lots of amazing benefits. The ‘weed’ we are going to use today the Garlic Mustard plant. Garlic Mustard is an amazing plant with lots of benefits. It contains vitamin A, C, E and some B vitamins as well and it doesn’t only contain lots of vitamins, but also potassium, calcium, magnesium, selenium, copper, iron, manganese and omega-3 fatty acids. Who is excited yet? I bet that the next time you go for a walk, you keep an eye out for this amazing plant!
WILD PESTO
Makes: ± 250 gram
100 gr Garlic Mustard
1/2 cup cashew nuts
1/4 cup nutritioninal yeast
1 tbs lemon juice
3 tbs extra virgin olive oil
3 tbs water
1/2 tsp salt
-Pick 100 gram of Garlic Mustard leaves and tops (incl flowers).
-Make sure there are no insects hiding in there (I assume you want it to stay a vegan recipe) and rinse the leaves.
-Put everything in the food processor and blend until smooth.
-Add a bit more oil or water, if you want it a bit more runny.
Some tips for wild picking:
-Be absolutely sure that you have the right plant. You do not want to ingest something that makes you end up in the hospital or worse..
-Don’t pick along roads or places where dogs are walked. A pinch of pollution or wee are not the ingredients you want to go for.
-Pick from an area where there are a lot of the specific plant you want to pick and only pick what you need. We need to share and be mindful.
-Try not to disturb wildlife.
Are you going to make this recipe? Please let me know or show me on instagram via @freedomevermore. I’d love to see it and hear what you think. Thank you! X
This is the second pasta pesto recipe over here, but everyone likes a good pasta pesto right? ..and this one is so quick and easy. Quick recipes are always welcome I think, especially after a long and hectic day or when you have a whole family to feed. I highly recommend you to make your own pesto though. It really changes the dish. Of course it will be even quicker if you use a ready made pesto (and that is fine too), but if you have the time (or you took the time early in the week), please use a home made one. This transforms a simple pasta dish to something really special. I love using Vivera’s new bacon pieces in here. They are scary good and make such a good combination with the pesto. Btw.. I recommend some extra veggies on the side. It’s yummy with broccoli, green beans or a nice salad perhaps?!
PASTA PESTO
Who doesn’t like pasta pesto! It’s such an easy, quick dish. And perfect for families too, because kids mostly love it too. Of course you can just mix some pesto with some pasta, but you can also make it a little more special and even tastier. It’ll still be easy though, just more fancy. You might want to leave the chilli flakes out if you want to serve it to children. Also humous is optional. I like the creaminess, but you might not or you want to leave those extra calories out. If you like to add some extra protein, then you can add some chickpeas (or some beans). I also like to sneak some sun-dried tomatoes in there.. you decide! Enjoy!
PESTO PLENTY
This is one of my most satisfying recipes. Pesto is something you can use in so many dishes, fresh herbs are super healthy and you can adapt the recipe the way you want it. You can add a little bit more garlic, lemon juice or oil.. whatever you prefer or you can just leave it the way it is. I like it the best like this, it’s the right balance for me. I love to make pasta pesto with it, add it on a pizza, a sandwich, mix it into some mayonnaise or use it as a dip. You can toast the pine nuts and the walnuts for some extra flavour, but you can also just use them straight from the packet. After making it you can keep it in the fridge for a few days.
GREENERY 
Planet Manel 