Wild Plants Pesto

Use on pizza, pasta, sandwiches, with cheese, stuffed in chicken breasts, anywhere you would use pesto.
Makes about 1 1/2 cups.

• ¾ cup toasted nuts of your choice
• 3-4 garlic cloves
• 1 ½ cup cooked stinging nettles, other wild green, or arugula. (cooking or drying removes the sting)
• 2/3 cup olive oil, more or less
• 3/4 cup grated Parmesan or Asiago cheese
• Dash lemon juice
• Salt and pepper to taste

Feel free to substitute with lambs quarters, dandelion greens, young curly dock, or combine wild greens of your choice. Once they are older and have flowered or set bud they will be bitter. Make sure you have correctly identified your wild greens. If using nettles - with gloves on, place leaves that have carefully been removed from stems, in a pot of salted, boiling water for about 15 seconds. Drain and submerge the leaves in cold ice water, “shocking” them to keep the beautiful green color. Drain and squeeze dry. Coarsely chop. The remaining cooking water makes a nice drink for your plants once cooled.

In a food processor, combine all of the ingredients. If the pesto is too thick, add more olive oil. Season to taste. Pour into a glass jar or other container and top with a thin layer of olive oil to prevent the surface from discoloring. Cover tightly and refrigerate for up to 2 weeks.

Use with pasta, pizza, on sandwiches, fish, and chicken, and in salad dressings and dips.

Print

Wild Plants Pesto

Use on pizza, pasta, sandwiches, with cheese, stuffed in chicken breasts, anywhere you would use pesto. Makes about 1 1/2 cups.

Course Sauce

Servings 1.5 Cups

Author Susan Evans, Certified Clinical Herbalist

Ingredients

• ¾ cup toasted nuts of your choice
• 3-4 garlic cloves
• 1 ½ cup cooked stinging nettles other wild green, or arugula. (cooking or drying removes the sting)
• 2/3 cup olive oil more or less
• 3/4 cup grated Parmesan or Asiago cheese
• Dash lemon juice
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. In a food processor, combine all of the ingredients. If the pesto is too thick, add more olive oil. Season to taste. Pour into a glass jar or other container and top with a thin layer of olive oil to prevent the surface from discoloring. Cover tightly and refrigerate for up to 2 weeks.
2. Use with pasta, pizza, on sandwiches, fish, and chicken, and in salad dressings and dips.

Recipe Notes

Feel free to substitute with lambs quarters, dandelion greens, young curly dock, or combine wild greens of your choice. Once they are older and have flowered or set bud they will be bitter. Make sure you have correctly identified your wild greens. If using nettles - with gloves on, place leaves that have carefully been removed from stems, in a pot of salted, boiling water for about 15 seconds. Drain and submerge the leaves in cold ice water, “shocking” them to keep the beautiful green color. Drain and squeeze dry. Coarsely chop. The remaining cooking water makes a nice drink for your plants once cooled.