Garden Pesto

Name: Garden Pesto
Yield: makes about three 4-ounce jars
Ingredients: 2 ounces nasturtium leaves; 2 or 3 mint leaves (optional); 2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed; 6 or so nasturtium seed pods (see p. 103); 6 tablespoons pine nuts (optional); 2 1/2 ounces mature, hard goat’s cheese or Parmesan, finely grated; 1/4 cup lemon juice; 2/3 cup hempseed, canola, or olive oil, plus extra to seal; Petals from 2 marigold flowers; Salt to taste

January 24, 2012

Season: July to August. The big, platelike leaves of the nasturtium plant (Tropaeolum majus) are abundant throughout the summer and often well into the golden months of autumn. With their peppery flavor, they make the perfect base for a fiery pesto. Add a sprig or two of garden mint, a few golden marigold petals, and some spicy nasturtium seeds and you have a wonderful sauce to stir into pasta, swirl on soups, or just smear in a sandwich. Pick the leaves on a warm, dry day–ideally, earlier in the summer, before the caterpillars have decided to feast on them. Whenever I make pesto, I replace the traditional Parmesan with a hard goat’s cheese, matured for a year. It makes an excellent alternative to Parmesan in all kinds of dishes.

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