Wild garlic, like its bulbous cousin is powerfully anti- inflammatory and great for calming an overworked body. Paired here with watercress, a bitter leaf that helps to stimulate digestion, this pesto is a good tonic for gently removing toxins from the body.
- 80g wild garlic
- 70g watercress
- 1 smoked garlic clove (unsmoked will do if you can’t find smoked)
- 1⁄2 lemon, zested and squeezed
- 50g sunflower seeds, toasted
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Salt and pepper to taste
If you can’t forage wild garlic locally, it can be bought from farmers’ markets or good greengrocers when in season.
1. Wash the wild garlic and watercress, then dry well. Place both in a blender and blitz till they are beginning to break down.
2. Add the garlic clove, zested and squeezed lemon and toasted sunflower seeds to the blender, pulsing again till you have a thick paste.
3. Slowly, with the motor running, add the olive oil in a steady, slow stream till you have a loose pesto. This should be to the texture that you like; I always aim for my pesto to be loose enough to fall from a spoon with ease, but to not be as runny as double cream.
