spring greens pesto

Spring greens, like dandelion, make for delicious, fresh, bright, and sometimes slightly bitter (in a good way!) pesto. This pesto is a great way to welcome in spring by using what’s growing around us and savoring its fresh, earthy flavors. Something that I love about pesto is how versatile it is. I use it in my spring greens and pesto risotto, my new potato, white bean, and pesto salad (coming soon), and so much more! It’s great in salads, on sandwiches, in grain bowls, on toast, in soup, and with pasta (of course!).

 I grew up thinking that dandelions were nothing more than “weeds”, although, when I was little, I enjoyed picking their yellow flowers to make bouquets or flower crowns for my mom or for friends. It wasn’t until a couple years ago that I learned that not only are they edible and delicious, but they are also packed with health benefits! And, because they are one of the first flowers to return in the spring, they are so important for supporting pollinators. All parts of the dandelion plant are edible, the leaves, the flower, and the roots. Dandelion helps our bodies clear toxins and pollutants (even though they are, ironically, one of the most heavily sprayed plants by lawn-owners). The leaves support our livers and are extremely high in minerals such as potassium, calcium, manganese, magnesium, and silica. They are also great sources of vitamins A, B, C, and D. If you don’t want to use dandelion or don’t have access to it, you can feel free to use other spring greens like cleavers, nettles, chickweed, and more (these greens, also now widely considered “weeds” also have great medicinal benefits and taste delicious)!

 You can find dandelion greens at farmers markets or even certain grocery stores (like MOM’s Organic Market- if you’re in the DMV area or certain places in the North East US). However, if you want to forage for own, make sure you are properly ID’ing the plant (if you aren’t 120% sure, don’t take it or check with an expert), and make sure you are gathering from an area that isn’t sprayed with pesticides or too close to roads or areas where the plant could be exposed to other toxins. As always, when it comes to foraging, it is important to follow the rules of the Honorable Harvest, a phrase coined by Robin Wall Kimmerer in Braiding Sweetgrass, to help guide us to have a symbiotic, reciprocal, loving relationship with our plant friends.

 I hope this pesto connects you to the season and the land around you <3

dandelion greens pesto

ingredients

1 bunch of spring greens such as dandelion greens, cleavers, nettles, or chickweed roughly chopped (about 1.5-2 cups)

1/2 cup of basil leaves (optional)

1/2 cup of raw walnuts (feel free to omit if avoiding nuts)

lemon zest from half of a lemon

1 clove of garlic thinly sliced

2 tablespoons of nutritional yeast

1/2 tsp- 1 tsp salt

fresh ground black pepper

1/3 cup- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

honey or maple syrup (optional)

instructions

1.    Place dandelion greens, basil leaves, walnuts, lemon zest, garlic, nutritional yest, ½ teaspoon of salt, and pepper into a food processor and blend until a paste-like consistency forms. You might need to scrape down the sides once or twice to make sure it’s all fully blended.

2.    While the food processor is turned on, use the opening in the top to slowly pour 1/3 cup of olive oil into the pesto. Slowly adding the oil means that it will be well incorporated into the pesto and will *emulsify*, meaning you will have a bright, thick (depending on how much olive oil you add), delicious pesto. If you feel like it’s a bit too thick, slowly add a bit more oil until it’s the consistency you want.

3.    Once the oil has been added, taste! At this point, I usually add a bit more salt and/or nutritional yeast, but feel free to add whatever you think it might need. If you find the taste is a bit on the bitter side, feel free to add some more basil, honey, or maple syrup to sweeten things up a bit.

4.    Enjoy! Store in the fridge for three days or if you want to freeze it (highly recommend this for later in the summer season so you can enjoy some yummy pesto throughout the cold months when we don’t have access to these greens), simply put the pesto in a freezer safe container and leave a layer of olive oil covering the top to ensure maximum freshness. It should last in the freezer for up to 4 or 5 months.