Nasturtium pesto

I posted ages ago about foraging nasturtiums and mentioned how a recipe or two might be helpful. One of the best uses of nasturtium I've found is making pesto. It's a little different from the familiar basil stuff, spicier finish but welcome anywhere other types are used and it can be substituted in any recipe that calls for pesto.

You will need:

A blender

2 cups (packed) nasturtium leaves
1/2 cup toasted pine nuts or toasted sunflower seeds
4 large cloves of garlic or a 1/2 cup (packed) of fresh garlic greens
1 cup olive oil
1/4 cup grated Italian hard cheese, Parmesan or Romano work 

Gather enough nasturtium to fill a paper grocery bag most of the way. That'll really only give you about two cups of packed leaves. I don't use the stems and I avoid the larger leaves in favor of more tender and mild tasting small ones. Be sure to wash them well and remove most of the stems. You can throw in some flowers if you like the color or use them for garnish. (The flowers are also slightly less spicy and can soften the flavor if you like.) Once the leaves are washed and dried add them to a blender with the oil, garlic, nuts/seeds and cheese. Blend until the consistency is even and the ingredients are well blended.

It's that simple, tastes great and will keep for a couple weeks or so in the fridge. I made this batch to go with gnocchi, miner's lettuce and roast quail. Looking forward to more.

Even the smallest garden

It would be nice to have a half acre of decent dirt to raise some food on but living in the city I have far less than that. We do have a few nice beds and a fantastic plum tree in the yard we share with our building. So, instead of trying to square foot garden enough tomatoes for a season or a bed of potatoes I've focused my efforts on a great herb garden. I also grow a few things that are really more than herbs but serve to flavor other things rather than being a dish unto themselves. Garlic and shallots are really simple and go with about anything. They can both be grown in the ground or in pots and can even be used as edible centerpieces or decorative plants. You haven't tasted garlic until you've had green garlic. Just plant the cloves and use the greens like you would green onions. Truly fantastic.

In essence you can buy a lot of potatoes for next to nothing and then throw in some fresh herbs and make something really great, often something that simply can't be had in most stores. 

Today's farmers market was a little on the ordinary side but I still managed to find an heirloom variety of mustard, some miner's lettuce and another type or rosemary for the garden. They'll go nicely with many of the things already out there ranging from Roman myrtle to several varieties of lavender and mint. I even have a patch of dandelions coming along nicely for the greens and maybe an attempt at dandelion jelly. 

Even if only a simple window box is all you can manage give growing something a try!