Wild garlic & Spinach Pesto – VG

by Lou Robbie

Wild garlic grows in damp woodland and can be found from late February through to April. If you come across it you’ll know because of its mild garlicy smell. It looks like thick grass and grows in bunches. Its best picked young before it flowers so the flavour is mild and not too intense. It makes a wonderful pesto blended with spinach and toasted nuts or seeds.

We’ve made this a vegan version omitting cheese but use a hard cheese instead of nutritional yeast if you wish.

Find all the ingredients in our groceries.

Lou x

Ingredients: makes one small jar

  • 50 g wild garlic leaves (washed well in water with a dash of vinegar, then dried)
  • 50g baby spinach
  • 70 g / ½ cup sunflower seeds (or almonds, walnuts, pecans, hazelnuts, pine nuts, pistachios, hemp seeds, or pumpkin seeds)
  • 1 unwaxed lemon, zest and juice
  • 4 tbsp nutritional yeast (optional) or hard cheese
  • 120ml approx olive oil (more if needed)
  • salt and black pepper, to taste

Method:

Step 1: Begin by toasting the nuts or seeds- place in an over or air fryer @170ºC and roast until they smell toasty and start to brown slightly. Set aside to cool.

Step 2: Roughly chop the spinach and wild garlic. Add the seeds to a the blender and blend to crush. Then add the wild garlic, spinach, lemon zest and juice, nutritional yeast, olive oil, salt and pepper. Blend to make a paste- keep it as coarse or chunky as you wish. Taste and adjust the seasoning if needed. add more oil if its too thick, but just add a drizzle at a time.

Pour the pesto into a jar, top with a thin layer of oil – this will keep in the fridge for 2 weeks.

Add to your favourite pasta, mix into butter to make wild garlic butter for toast. Serve with your roast veggies. Stir into mash potato.

Enjoy x

Cherry Tomato Pasta (Galway Grown toms)

by Lou Robbie

It is July and there are ripe red cherry tomatoes being harvested on the farm, they are then packed and delivered across the country to your doorstep. My kids and I saw them growing first hand, in the tunnels, at the farm walk last Saturday and it truly made me appreciate how special they really are.

A simple dish like this really celebrates the cherry tomato. This recipe was shared by an Italian Nonna (granny) she said using the best ingredients is what matters most. I think she’s right. Like her I added some bicarbonate of soda to the sauce this balances the acidity in the tomatoes and really elavates the sweetness. Try it and tell us what you think!

Lou 🙂

Ingredients: Serves 2

Method:

  • Step 1: Rinse the cherry tomatoes and cut them in half. Finely slice the garlic cloves.
  • Step 2: Warm a wide pan on a medium heat. Add a good glug of oil to the pan along with the sliced garlic, cook for a minute.
  • Step 3: Pour in the cherry tomatoes cook for a few minutes. Then add the bicarbonate of soda, chilli flakes, sugar and salt. Simmer for 5-10 minutes, until the tomatoes start to soften.
  • Step 4: Meanwhile, cook the pasta in boiling salty water. Then add straight to the cooked tomatoes, stir to coat, add the fresh basil leaves and serve up. Bellissimo!