Wild Garlic and Broccoli Pesto Pasta

Wild Garlic and Broccoli Pesto Pasta. A tasty green pesto made with seasonal Spring wild garlic and broccoli, tossed through pasta and more green vegetables! A really healthy dinner, perfect to add to your midweek meals and it only takes five minutes. Wild garlic season comes to an end in June and the leaves are a little less tender than they were at the beginning of the season- where they were perfect raw on the side in another of my wild garlic dishes: Wild Garlic Butter Chicken. However, later in the season you will find the pretty garlic flowers sprouting from the wild garlic stems. These edible flowers have a stronger garlic flavour and look great on top of any dish. If you’re making this recipe out-with wild garlic season, or can’t locate any near you (tip: you will likely find wild garlic in wooded areas around a river or near the beach) then feel free to use basil or spinach instead- add an extra garlic clove too. Let me know if you give it a go by sharing your photo with me on my Instagram.

RECIPE

SERVES 2

DIFFICULTY LEVEL ROOKIE

Ingredients:

200g fresh pasta (fusilli works well with this sauce but any would do)
2 large handfuls of wild garlic and a few garlic flowers for garnish (or spinach or basil) thoroughly washed.
1 head of broccoli
70g fine green beans, halved width ways
70g Parmesan, grated
1 garlic clove, crushed
A large handful (around 40g) walnuts
Handful of fresh basil (optional)
Teaspoon chilli flakes (optional)
Extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper

Method:

1. Separate the broccoli florets and cook them with the green beans in boiling salted water for around 4 minutes until tender but not too soft. Add the pasta for the last minute or two. Drain, retaining a cupful of the cooking water and remove the broccoli. Toss the pasta and green beans with a little oil so the pasta doesn’t stick together.

2. In a food processor, mini chopper or pestle and mortar, add the broccoli, wild garlic, garlic clove, Parmesan, walnuts, basil if using, chilli flakes if using and a good grind of salt and pepper. Whizz to a paste and drizzle in up to three tablespoons of oil and whizz again until you have your desired consistency. If you’d prefer, you could thin it with a drizzle of oil and a couple tablespoons of the pasta cooking water instead of additional oil to make it a lighter dish.

3. Heat a pan over a medium heat. Add the pesto and toss through the pasta and the green beans. Stir until heated through. Add more pasta cooking water if the sauce needs thinned. Serve in bowls topped with Parmesan shavings, wild garlic flowers and a sprinkle of chilli flakes.