Ollie Hunter is an award-winning chef and author of several sustainable cook books. Having been a MasterChef semi-finalist in 2013, he and his wife Lauren have since created an award-winning sustainable pub, The Wheatsheaf, in Chilton Foliat. Here, he shares some of his favourite seasonal, sustainable recipes.
“Nuts can be expensive, so to keep with the thriftiness of foraging, using roasted seeds in the pesto is an excellent alternative way to create beautiful flavour without breaking the bank.”
Wild garlic can be found growing in city parks, woodland and fields in the UK in April and May.
INGREDIENTS
SERVES 4
For the wild garlic pesto:
Large bunch of wild garlic (ramps)
Large bunch of fresh parsley
100 g/3. oz/⅓– ½ cup roasted sunflower seeds
200 g/7 oz hard cheese, grated – I use aged Westcombe Cheddar – plus extra to serve
Olive oil
Salt
To serve:
400 g/14 oz organic fresh egg tagliatelle
200 g/7 oz Rainbow chard, sliced
Wild garlic (ramps) flowers
Put the wild garlic, parsley, roasted seeds and grated cheese into a food processor and blitz. Scrape down the sides. Add enough olive oil to get the pesto down to the correct consistency – it should be oozy but not runny. Season with salt.
Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil. Drop the pasta in and simmer for a couple of minutes until al dente. Drain, reserving some of the pasta water and add the pasta back into the pan, with 1 large tablespoon of pesto per person, the rainbow chard and a half a ladle of pasta water. Mix together thoroughly to ensure the pasta is coated in sauce and cook over a medium heat until reduced and combined.
Serve with some more freshly grated cheese and garnish with some wild garlic flowers. Keep any leftover pesto in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Recipe taken from "30 Easy ways to Join the Food Revolution: A sustainable cookbook" by Ollie Hunter (Pavilion Books). Image: Louise Hagger
