This morning I whipped up a batch of springy fresh weed pesto! Almost everyone enjoys fresh basil pesto in the summer, but fewer know the joys of spring pesto made with the first pungent greens and weeds of spring. One of my personal favorites is sweet clover, Melilotus officinalis. I first learned to make clover pesto from Loba at the Anima center so many years ago, and ever since have always harvested the small, fresh, fragrant leaves and flowers of Melilotus for pesto in the spring. It makes a very strong flavored pungent pesto by itself, so I often mix it with other greens and herbs to mellow it out. Aside from its sweet vanilla scent of summer, clover is an excellent blood mover, helping to break up stagnant, pooling blood (and other fluids). Useful as a poultice for mastitis, and both internally and externally for nerve pain or weakness. I find it a wonderful spring food to get the blood and fluids moving and flowing in the body, and stimulate the digestion with its bitter aromatic flavor.In addition to the clover, I am lucky to have a blossoming nettle patch in my garden plot. I've been harvesting the young nettle greens ( much to my delight and suprise, these very young leaves aren't causing me any headaches at all!) every week. Nettles are popping up all over the country in the warming spring, and I'm sure you can find some near you. Nettles are a wonderful mineral nutrient dense green, which builds the blood with its iron, vitamin K, calcium and more. In many parts of the world, nettles is one of the very first spring greens to pop up after a long winter without green foods, and is often touted as a spring tonic food and beverage. It supports kidney and liver health, skin, hair and nails and much much more. Suffice it to say, a winning spring green to include in your weed pesto, with a mild flavor that complements the stronger taste of clover or dandelion.
I often also add dandelion leaves to my weed pesto, but alas, my dandelions are much to small and few to get enough for pesto making, but I've been adding them to my salads on a regular basis. Dandelions are bitter and cooling and diuretic, also very mineral rich. Dandelions help the body efficiently eliminate waste products through the kidneys and bladder, and tone up the liver and our digestion by increasing bile production and bile secretion. You can make your pesto with just dandelion greens as well if other greens are not available to you.
The recipie follows:
several handfuls of spring greens. I used equal portions of fresh nettles and clover tops.
2 cloves garlic
1/2 c olive oil
juice from 1/2 lemon (more if you use dandelion or other bitter green)
1/2 c toasted walnuts
1 tsp salt
Steam the nettle greens briefly to neutralize the stinging formic acid. Strain and press well to remove as much water as possible.
Add nettles, clover, garlic, nuts, salt, lemon and olive oil to food processor. Be generous with your olive oil to make your pesto thinner. YOu may also add grated parmesean or romano cheese if you wish. I prefer my pesto without cheese.
Blend well in food processor or blender until smooth. Serve on eggs, fish, meat, in salad dressing, or as a dip for crackers or crudites, or as a sandwhich spread! Invigorate the blood and the body with the vitality of spring!
