Wild Garlic Pesto

I'm enjoying this little heat wave we're having in Newcastle, albeit through a window, but enjoying it all the same. I took it as an opportunity to become a forager at the weekend. My foraging career to date has mainly just been for blackberries, actually perhaps that's all. I once ate some wild watercress in the Lake District but that's about it... So I've decided to be a bit more adventurous. I found a lovely recipe for Wild Garlic Pesto, so I set out in search of the wild garlic. You can smell it before you see it, I have caught wafts of it from various gardens and parks around Jesmond, you just need to keep an eye out...

Jesmond Dene is over run with it at the moment, but I found a lovely little patch in Gosforth Park, a quiet spot in the woods, far from the weeing dogs of Jesmond Dene, which does slightly put me off... I probably wasn't that prepared in ballet pumps and a dress so might have to rethink outfits on future trips, I ended up with soil in my shoes and twigs in my hair... but with a carrier bag full of bright green leaves.

You mainly find wild garlic in shaded woodland areas, identified by its wafting garlicky aroma. It has long wide green leaves that look a little like lily of the valley and it grows in Britain from late winter, into spring. The patch I found were young small leaves, perfect for cooking. Unlike normal garlic it is the leaves that you eat, not the bulb, and it has a much milder taste than the strong garlic bulb which some people find over powering, though I love it... The leaves get a bit thicker and woodier when the plant flowers, towards the end of its growing season, so now is probably a good time to go in search of some.

You can wilt it as a green leaf, as you would spinach or stir into a sauce with cream and shallots, chop it into a creamy risotto, blend it into a home made mayonnaise or wilt through a stir fry. I've been looking at lots of recipes for it and will have to get experimenting while the season lasts. For my first attempt I decided on a pesto, it keeps for months, so is a good way to preserve it for use through the summer.

Simply blitz 75g of wild garlic leaves, washed thoroughly, in a food processor with 2 shallots, 50g of walnuts, 150ml of extra virgin olive oil, a teaspoon of salt and half a teaspoon of sugar. You can add 50g of parmesan also if you like also, I didn’t this time around.

So far this week I have enjoyed tagliatelle with the wild garlic pesto, and even more delicious, a chicken salad with a pesto dressing loosened with a little more olive oil, manchego, crunchy little gem lettuce, pancetta and pine nuts. It has a lovely mild garlic taste, but is fresh and green at the same time, my favourite pesto I've tried so far for sure...

Langoustine with Homemade Garlic Mayonnaise

It's been a beautiful Spring day today, actual warm sunshine, birds singing, goats skipping round the Ouseburn with the river sparkling in the background. I think Spring is on the way... Saying that it is still only February so I'm probably getting carried away. I think it is meant to be frosty next week, but I'll embrace the sunshine while it lasts...

The lighter nights and slight warmth all bring a slight drift away from stews and soups... I spent Saturday morning wandering round the Grainger Market and came home with a bag of langoustine, some beautiful clams, two cute little gurnard and some cod. I should cook more fish, it's been quite a meaty winter, so the arrival of Spring seems like perfect timing.

The langoustine are pre cooked and just need cracking out of their spiky shells, they are sweet and delicious. As a treat I decided to make some homemade mayonnaise to dip the little fellas in. I turned to Elizabeth David for a lesson in mayonnaise. I've made it a few times now, it will take you about 5 minutes, and it is really much easier than you would think. It's quite different to what we have come to presume mayonnaise to be, that white gloop in a jar has become the norm and it seems wrong to me. Firstly I don’t know how it is white, when the two main ingredients are bright orange egg yolk and deep yellow extra virgin olive oil... I'm remembering a programme now where they talked about all kinds of weird substitute food stuffs they filled it with to make it the right consistency... Not very tasty. Let's move on...

The basic method is always the same, whisk oil into egg yolks and you get mayonnaise... simple. I decided to go for garlic mayonnaise this time, to go with the sweet delicious langoustine. I used 2 cloves of garlic and it nearly blew my head off so I would go for one clove... Pound this to a smooth paste with some salt in a pestle and mortar, and whisk in an egg yolk. It will take on a mayonnaise type consistency even at this stage. Then begin to whisk in the extra virgin olive oil, just a drip at a time at first, very slowly, and then a steadier stream. I used about 200ml of extra virgin olive oil, when about half of it is combined add the juice of ¼ lemon. You can use vinegar also, it's the acid that is needed, then add the rest of the oil.

If by any chance the mayonnaise splits or curdles add a fresh egg yolk to a clean bowl and whisk the split mixture into it a spoonful at a time and it will magically right itself. That's a little Elizabeth tip, that I have had to use on one occasion...

It tastes quite different to shop bought mayonnaise, you can really taste the oil, so use a nice one... The sweet little langoustine dipped in the creamy rich mayonnaise are a real treat, and you can use a bit of crusty brown bread to mop up any leftovers...