Wild Garlic Pesto Pasta (Print Version)
Fresh spring pasta with vibrant wild garlic pesto, pine nuts, and Parmesan. Ready in 25 minutes.
# What You'll Need:
→ Wild Garlic Pesto
01 - 2.65 oz wild garlic leaves, rinsed and patted dry
02 - 1.75 oz toasted pine nuts (or walnuts)
03 - 1.75 oz freshly grated Parmesan cheese
04 - 1 garlic clove, peeled
05 - 3.4 fl oz extra virgin olive oil
06 - Juice of ½ lemon
07 - Salt and black pepper, to taste
→ Pasta
08 - 14.1 oz dried pasta (spaghetti, linguine, or penne)
09 - Salt, for pasta water
→ Optional Garnish
10 - Extra grated Parmesan
11 - Freshly cracked black pepper
# How to Make It:
01 - Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a rolling boil. Add the pasta and cook according to package directions until al dente. Before draining, reserve ½ cup of the starchy pasta water. Drain the pasta through a colander and set aside.
02 - While the pasta cooks, place the wild garlic leaves, toasted pine nuts, grated Parmesan, and garlic clove into a food processor. Pulse several times until the ingredients are coarsely chopped and well combined.
03 - With the food processor running continuously, slowly drizzle in the extra virgin olive oil through the feed tube. Continue blending until a smooth, vibrant green paste forms. Add the lemon juice and season with salt and black pepper to taste. Pulse once or twice to incorporate.
04 - Transfer the drained pasta to a large serving bowl or back into the pot. Add the wild garlic pesto and toss thoroughly to coat every strand. Splash in the reserved pasta water a little at a time until the sauce reaches a silky, clinging consistency.
05 - Divide among warmed plates or bowls. Finish with an extra shower of grated Parmesan and a generous crack of black pepper if desired. Serve immediately while hot.
# Expert Advice:
01 -
- Wild garlic has this unbelievable perfume that sits somewhere between garlic and spring onions, and once you blitz it into pesto your whole kitchen smells like a hillside in Tuscany.
- The entire thing comes together in the time it takes to boil pasta, which means it qualifies as weeknight dinner even on your most exhausted days.
02 -
- Wild garlic season is maddeningly short, roughly late March through May, so freeze extra leaves in single layers between parchment paper if you want this pesto in July.
- I once tried making this in a blender instead of a food processor and the blade spun so fast it heated the leaves, turning the whole batch a dull brownish green, so stick with the food processor and short pulses.
03 -
- If the pesto tastes flat or one dimensional, it almost certainly needs more salt or another squeeze of lemon, acid is what makes wild garlic sing.
- Toasting the nuts in a dry pan over medium heat for exactly three minutes, shaking constantly, gives you maximum flavor without the bitterness that comes from even thirty seconds too long.