Laid somewhat low by an infection I sought solace, once again, in wild garlic for therapeutic reasons and sheer comfort. I decided this afternoon to make wild garlic pesto and this is how I did it. I blitzed 200g of wild garlic leaves with 75g of walnuts, 50g of Parmesan, the juice of half a lemon, a little water and enough olive oil to make it all…well, pesto-like. And a little salt. It’s good: not nearly as spicy-hot as the conventional pesto, very green tasting and wholesome. Tried it tonight with some grilled lamb which was marinated with cumin and coriander; not bad. But tomorrow, having developed a bit more flavour, it will be tossed with some pasta for lunch. Incidentally, I tried nibbling some hawthorn shoots as I was gathering the ramsons. Hmm… They tasted…er…green and not terribly interesting. Maybe I’ll try incorporating them into a salad. They must be full of goodness but they are not exactly a must-eat treat. On the other hand, the young nettle tops, just sweated with a little butter, pepper and nutmeg are better than spinach. Unfortunately, I have enough of them to feed the entire country…