Wild Garlic Pesto Pasta (Print Version)
Spring pasta tossed with fragrant wild garlic pesto, pine nuts, and Parmesan in just 25 minutes.
# What You 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
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:
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 4 fl oz of the starchy pasta water. Drain thoroughly.
02 - While the pasta cooks, combine the wild garlic leaves, toasted pine nuts, grated Parmesan, and garlic clove in a food processor. Pulse several times until the ingredients are coarsely chopped and well combined.
03 - With the 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.
04 - Transfer the drained pasta to a large serving bowl or return it to the pot. Add the wild garlic pesto and toss vigorously, adding splashes of the reserved pasta water as needed to achieve a silky, evenly coated consistency.
05 - Divide among warmed plates or bowls. Finish with additional grated Parmesan and freshly cracked black pepper if desired. Serve immediately while hot.
# Expert Tips:
01 -
- The pesto comes together in under ten minutes while your pasta water boils, making this one of the most effortless weeknight dinners imaginable.
- Wild garlic delivers a flavor that is somewhere between conventional garlic and spring onions, with a brightness that regular basil pesto cannot quite match.
02 -
- Wild garlic oxidizes quickly so make the pesto as close to serving time as possible and press plastic wrap directly onto its surface if you must store it.
- The lemon juice is not just for flavor because it helps preserve that bright green color that fades to a dull army khaki within hours otherwise.
03 -
- Never blanch wild garlic leaves before making pesto because heat dulls their raw, peppery intensity and you lose the very thing that makes this sauce special.
- If your food processor is large and the ingredients keep flying to the edges, stop and scrape down the sides twice because uneven blending leaves bitter chunks of garlic clove hidden in the final dish.