FERMENTED WILD GARLIC PESTO

So wild garlic season is in full swing!  Wild garlic are among the first greens to appear in the spring and are always a welcome sight, heralding  warmer brighter days.
 If you like   garlic then you will love wild garlic. You can use it anywhere you would use spinach, in salads, soups, omelettes,   dips and pesto.
Most people make wild garlic pesto with oil  but I like to make mine  with just salt and ferment it for 5 to 7 days for fabulous flavour and  loads of probiotics!!
It's a win  win situation, seasonal eating at it's best,   and wild garlic is free!!

So this pesto is delicious, tangy, garlicky with real texture and umami flavour, and so simple to make!
You can use any combination of nuts and seeds.
 Pine nuts, sunflower seeds & a tablespoon lemon juice works well
You can add sun dried tomatoes, olives and harissa for a Mediterranean flavour
Endless possibilities  so get your creative hat on and your wellies and go and collect some !
Go to your nearest wood and your nose will guide you to   carpets of  delicious wild garlic! Be aware that Lily of the Valley sometimes grows beside wild garlic and looks quite similar.  It is however poisonous and doesn't smell of garlic.   Just take a leaf and crush it,  it will smell unmistakably  of garlic. Just google it if you are unsure, there are lots of videos and articles on identification. 



 
Ingredients

• Giant bunch of wild garlic, at least 250g
• 150g cashew nuts 
• 150g seeds, sunflower or pumpkin seeds
• a tsp sea salt ( about 5g)

Method

1. Wash the wild garlic and either finely chop or blitz in a food processor.
2. Transfer to a large bowl and sprinkle with the sea salt.
3. Massage wild garlic to release some brine; alternatively you can bash it a bit with a rolling pin! 
4. Add the nuts and seeds to the processor and pulse a few times to break them up. You don't want them finely ground, some bits are good for texture! 
5. Add to the wild garlic in the bowl and give it all a good mix! 
6. You can put the lot back into the food processor and blitz a few times
7. Pack it tightly into a clean glass jar, leaving a bit of headspace.
8. If you don't have enough brine to cover the pesto then top it up with filtered water and top it off with a zip lock bag filled with water to weigh it down.
9. Cover and leave at room temp for 5 to 7 days, until it tastes nice and tangy!
10. It’s a good idea to put a plate underneath it to catch any escaping brine and be careful when you open it, mine was fairly active!! Just put your jar in the fridge where it will happily keep for ages!!