Herbal Pesto

Herbal Pesto is a mixture of herbs, nuts, hard cheese, oil and (often) garlic all ground together into a somewhat uniform spreadable consistency.

Making pesto is s great way to make use of leafy herbs and reap all of their nutritionally dense attributes.

Chickweed is an abundant weedy herb which is high in many vitamins and minerals. When gathering it, be sure that the place you are harvesting it from is clean and has not been sprayed with any chemicals.

Chickweed Pesto

• 3 cups of freshly picked chickweed, rinsed and densely packed
• 1/2 cup good quality cold pressed virgin olive oil
• 1/2 cup sliced or grated parmesean reggiano, asiago or fontina cheese
• 1/2 cup nuts of your choice (I like to use almonds or cashews but sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds do nicely as well.)
• 3 cloves garlic
• Sea salt to taste if desired

Place nuts in a food processor and run until finely chopped. Add garlic and cheese and repeat process. Add chickweed and process for a minute or so until everything is of a finely chopped but slightly chunky texture. Slowly add the oil and process until you have a slightly runny paste. You can add more oil if pesto is too thick. Taste and add salt if desired and stir to incorporate.

Package into small lidded jars or plastic containers and add enough oil to the top of each pesto to just cover the surface. Refrigerate and use within 2 days or freeze for later use.

Lemon balm, dandelion greens, parsley or young plantain leaves can be substituted for chickweed when making this pesto.You can also try any combination of the five (although the dandelion leaves will be quite bitter). If you don’t have access to these plants, delicious results can be achieved using fresh kale (with the midrib removed), or pea shoots.