Herbal Pesto for Spring

Let’s play with our pesto! Mixing & matching the ingredients in the garden, refrigerator or at the farmers market is a fun and creative way to explore pesto variations.

In Southern California where I live the spring weeds pop up early! So I’ve been playing with weedy & herby pesto’s since February.

The recipe I am sharing requires no parmesan cheese (though you could add it). If you want basil, go for it, but there are so many other herbs to mix & match and play with! Same for pine nuts ($$$), try pecans, walnuts, or hazelnuts or any others that sound good to you!

Spring Herbal Pesto Recipe

Ingredients

3 cups of greens & herbs

(Try 1 .5 cup arugula & 1 cup basil, 1/2 cup dill, or choose your own blend of greens & herbs)

1/2-3/4 cup Olive oil

Zest of 1 organic lemon and 2 tbs juice

2-3 cloves of garlic chopped

1/2 cup pecans

1/4 cup walnuts

Salt & pepper to taste

optional 1/8-1/2 cup of parmesan cheese

Directions

Lightly toast the nuts until fragrant and chop up.

Zest lemon and set aside.

Roughly chop up greens & herbs.

Add nuts to a food processor or blender and chop up finely. Add 1/2 cup of olive oil and garlic and blend until smooth. Add greens in 3 batches processing until smooth. If using parmesan cheese add now.

Add 2 tablespoons of lemon juice as you process to smooth consistency. If needed add water.

When you are happy with the consistency add the lemon zest and salt & pepper to taste.

Store in the refrigerator.

How to enjoy: toss with pasta, drizzle on meats, vegetables or use as a dip.

Enjoy!

Mix & Match Herbs, Greens & Nuts Play with your ingredients to create your own special pesto blend. Or change up the recipe for the season or what’s in the garden.

Herbs & Greens: arugula, basils, chickweed, chives, cilantro, parsley, dandelion greens, dill, kale, lemon balm, lettuces, nettle, oregano, mint, nasturtium leaves, rosemary sage, spinach, sprouts, swiss chard, tarragon, thyme, violet leaves

Nuts & Seeds: almonds, cashews, chia seeds, hazelnuts, peanuts, pecans, pine nuts, pistachios, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, walnuts

Edible flowers for garnish- borage, calendula petals, chamomile flowers, nasturtium flowers, violets or pansies.

Tips: Pay attention to the flavors you are blending together. Taste everything first. Some herbs, greens, nuts and seeds, may be much stronger tasting or bitter than others. So take this into consideration as you mix & match the recipe.

Have fun and share your recipe. I’d love to see what you come up with!