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I have to confess there are times when I write out the title to what I've just made and know others will be thinking 
or 
and I think this might just be one of those recipes.
So, I raided the veg plot. I have 3 varieties of sorrel growing in it. I used one called Sheep's Sorrel (Rumex acetosella), that's small leafed and grows from runners under the ground and once you've got it, you can happily rip up masses of it without killing the plant. But any sorrel will do. I do know that Sheep's sorrel grows worldwide.
Next - Warrigal Greens (Tetragonia tetragonioides) or New Zealand Spinach is a native plant to Australia. I happen to have some growing in my veg plot after buying a pot a few years back. If you can't get hold of it, switch it out for any other green leafed plant such as wild garlic or even spinach.
Raw (unblanched)
Blanched
Garlic Scapes: these you won't be able to buy unless you have a garlic farm nearby who know the value of the entire plant, not just the bulbs it you grow your own garlic. They are the unopened flower buds and stem that you are meant to break off to encourage the garlic bulb to get bigger rather than the plant waste energy flowering. They definitely taste and smell of garlic. If you grow your own garlic you'll have some. Otherwise just substitute with more garlic.
Finally Native Peppersalt. It's a salt blend that includes mountain pepperberry, mountain pepperleaf (Tasmannia lanceolata) and wattleseed. Mountain pepperberry that's native to alpine regions of Australia. It's about 5 times hotter than standard black pepper corns. You'll not be able to substitute the pepperberry salt mix with anything that's close to it in flavour, so just season to taste.
Ingredients (makes 8 portions).
75-80g or 1 cup (firmly-packed) Sorrel leaves
75-80g or 1 cup (firmly-packed) Warrigal Green, young leaves & flower buds only
100-120 g (⅔ cup) mixed pine nuts & walnuts, lightly toasted
1 large handful of garlic scrapes (handful as in bunch of flowers holding the long stalks)
1 tbsp lime juice
160 ml (⅔ cup) olive oil
1½-2 tsp native peppersalt mix (or salt & pepper to taste)
Notes.
If you're using anything other than very young warrigal green leaves, you'll need to blanch them first, then drain well and pat dry. I have plenty of young leaves. Like sorrel, it contains oxalic acid and the older the leaf, the stronger the acid etc and too much can be bad for you, but too much is a lot and frequently unless you're prone to kidney stones etc)
Method
Put everything in a food processor and process until smooth.
If you like a few pieces of pine nuts (or other nuts) in the end product, reserve 20g and add them at the end and blitz one more time for a few moments until desired chunkiness is achieved.
Decant into storage jars, top with a layer of olive oil (to a depth of a 5mm with no pesto breaking through the oil barrier) and seal. Store in fridge or freezer until you want to use it.
It looks pretty much like any green pesto really! And tastes unlike any shop bought green pesto.
Edited to correct name of garlic scapes.
Edited again to add measurements in grams & additional pictures
PS, no credits because it's an amalgamation of various recipes using wild or foraged foods and then made dairy free because of my dairy allergy.
or and I think this might just be one of those recipes.So, I raided the veg plot. I have 3 varieties of sorrel growing in it. I used one called Sheep's Sorrel (Rumex acetosella), that's small leafed and grows from runners under the ground and once you've got it, you can happily rip up masses of it without killing the plant. But any sorrel will do. I do know that Sheep's sorrel grows worldwide.
Next - Warrigal Greens (Tetragonia tetragonioides) or New Zealand Spinach is a native plant to Australia. I happen to have some growing in my veg plot after buying a pot a few years back. If you can't get hold of it, switch it out for any other green leafed plant such as wild garlic or even spinach.
Raw (unblanched)
Blanched
Garlic Scapes: these you won't be able to buy unless you have a garlic farm nearby who know the value of the entire plant, not just the bulbs it you grow your own garlic. They are the unopened flower buds and stem that you are meant to break off to encourage the garlic bulb to get bigger rather than the plant waste energy flowering. They definitely taste and smell of garlic. If you grow your own garlic you'll have some. Otherwise just substitute with more garlic.
Finally Native Peppersalt. It's a salt blend that includes mountain pepperberry, mountain pepperleaf (Tasmannia lanceolata) and wattleseed. Mountain pepperberry that's native to alpine regions of Australia. It's about 5 times hotter than standard black pepper corns. You'll not be able to substitute the pepperberry salt mix with anything that's close to it in flavour, so just season to taste.
Ingredients (makes 8 portions).
75-80g or 1 cup (firmly-packed) Sorrel leaves
75-80g or 1 cup (firmly-packed) Warrigal Green, young leaves & flower buds only
100-120 g (⅔ cup) mixed pine nuts & walnuts, lightly toasted
1 large handful of garlic scrapes (handful as in bunch of flowers holding the long stalks)
1 tbsp lime juice
160 ml (⅔ cup) olive oil
1½-2 tsp native peppersalt mix (or salt & pepper to taste)
Notes.
If you're using anything other than very young warrigal green leaves, you'll need to blanch them first, then drain well and pat dry. I have plenty of young leaves. Like sorrel, it contains oxalic acid and the older the leaf, the stronger the acid etc and too much can be bad for you, but too much is a lot and frequently unless you're prone to kidney stones etc)
Method
Put everything in a food processor and process until smooth.
If you like a few pieces of pine nuts (or other nuts) in the end product, reserve 20g and add them at the end and blitz one more time for a few moments until desired chunkiness is achieved.
Decant into storage jars, top with a layer of olive oil (to a depth of a 5mm with no pesto breaking through the oil barrier) and seal. Store in fridge or freezer until you want to use it.
It looks pretty much like any green pesto really! And tastes unlike any shop bought green pesto.
Edited to correct name of garlic scapes.
Edited again to add measurements in grams & additional pictures
PS, no credits because it's an amalgamation of various recipes using wild or foraged foods and then made dairy free because of my dairy allergy.
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