The first ramsoms shoots (wild garlic) are starting to appear. It is at its best for the next couple of months, but by late May it will be losing some of the subtle delicacy that make it closer in flavour to chives than its bulb namesake. This recipe harnesses its fresh spring hints with hazelnuts which are stronger (and cheaper and more authentically British) than the traditional pine kernels used around the Mediterranean to make a sauce based on the classic pesto (or Italian for ‘paste’). To make it more British still, it also uses rapeseed and organic Welsh farmhouse Caerphilly – although any good strong hard cheese will do (just avoid synthetic supermarket versions).
Big handful Ramsoms
200g Hazelnuts
200g Grated Caerphilly (or good farmhouse cheese)
5g (tspn) Coarse sea salt
125ml Rapeseed oil
Lemon juice / cider vinegar (optional)
Put everything in a food processor and pulse blitz. Dribble in additional oil until you get the right consistency. You can pep up the flavour with dried seaweed (pepper dulse works particularly well) and other onion-flavoured wild greens (Jack by the hedge etc). A bit of acid in the form or lemon juice or cider vinegar also works well.
