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Wild garlic and hazelnut pesto

Name: Wild garlic and hazelnut pesto
Prep time: 10 min
Total time: 10 min
Yield: Makes about 600g
Cuisine: Italian recipes
Ingredients: 100g hazelnuts; 350g wild garlic leaves (see tip); 100g hard sheep’s cheese, finely grated (vegetarian if necessary); 150ml extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra to seal; You’ll also need…; Clean cotton cloth or tea towel; food processor

Published: 27 May 20
Updated: 26 May 25

Gill Meller’s four-ingredient wild garlic and hazelnut pesto takes just 10 minutes to make and tastes great with soups, pasta dishes, meat, fish and more.

Short ingredient list: Nuts, wild garlic leaves, oil and cheese are all that’s needed to make this versatile pesto, which comes together in minutes.
Powerful flavours: Gill Meller suggests using hard sheep’s cheese and hazelnuts, rather than pesto’s traditional parmesan and pine nuts, for a unique flavour.
Batch prep: This recipe makes a generous 600g and keeps in the fridge for up to two weeks, ready to add to pasta, sandwiches and all kinds of other dishes.

This recipe is from Gill’s cookbook ROOT STEM LEAF FLOWER: How to Cook with Vegetables and Other Plants (Quadrille £27).

Easy
May 2020

Test kitchen approved

Makes about 600g
Hands-on time 10 min

Gill Meller’s four-ingredient wild garlic and hazelnut pesto takes just 10 minutes to make and tastes great with soups, pasta dishes, meat, fish and more.

Short ingredient list: Nuts, wild garlic leaves, oil and cheese are all that’s needed to make this versatile pesto, which comes together in minutes.
Powerful flavours: Gill Meller suggests using hard sheep’s cheese and hazelnuts, rather than pesto’s traditional parmesan and pine nuts, for a unique flavour.
Batch prep: This recipe makes a generous 600g and keeps in the fridge for up to two weeks, ready to add to pasta, sandwiches and all kinds of other dishes.

This recipe is from Gill’s cookbook ROOT STEM LEAF FLOWER: How to Cook with Vegetables and Other Plants (Quadrille £27).

Vegetarian

Nutrition: Per 50g

Calories: 153kcals
Fat: 15.3g (2.9g saturated)
Protein: 3.4g
Carbohydrates: 0.6g (0.3g sugars)
Fibre: 0.7g
Salt: 0.1g

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Before you start

Follow our guide to foraging for wild garlic.

Before you start

Follow our guide to foraging for wild garlic.

Ingredients

100g hazelnuts
350g wild garlic leaves (see tip)
100g hard sheep’s cheese, finely grated (vegetarian if necessary)
150ml extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra to seal

You’ll also need…

Clean cotton cloth or tea towel; food processor

Method

Toast the hazelnuts in a small dry pan set over a medium heat for 3-4 minutes, shaking the pan every so often so they brown evenly. Tip out onto the cotton cloth or tea towel, fold over the corners to enclose the hazelnuts, then rub vigorously to loosen the skins. Set aside.
Put the wild garlic leaves in the bowl of the food processor and pulse briefly to break them down. Once the leaves are coarsely chopped, add the peeled toasted hazelnuts and pulse again. Now add the cheese and the olive oil and pulse again until you reach the desired texture. Season the pesto generously with salt and pepper and adjust the consistency with more olive oil, if you like.
Use a rubber spatula to scrape the pesto out into a large sterilised jar (see Make Ahead). Tap the jar on a work surface to help settle the pesto, then trickle a thin layer of olive oil on top to seal. Seal and store the pesto in the fridge, where it will keep for up to 2 weeks.

Recipe from May 2020 Issue

Nutrition

Nutrition: per serving

Calories: 153kcals
Fat: 15.3g (2.9g saturated)
Protein: 3.4g
Carbohydrates: 0.6g (0.3g sugars)
Fibre: 0.7g
Salt: 0.1g

FAQs

When is wild garlic in season?
Wild garlic appears as early as late February (depending on the weather) but reaches its peak in early April when it may be flowering.

What does wild garlic taste like?
The leaves have a fresh garlicky taste that’s punchy when raw but mellows when cooked.

Can I leave out the wild garlic?
Yes: use a generous bunch each of basil and parsley instead.

delicious. tips

Keep the pesto in a sealed sterilised jar in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. Find out how to sterilise a jar here.

No wild garlic? Use a generous bunch each of basil and parsley.