03/23/2026
Taste of Spring🌷Chickw**d Pesto
One of the most delicious wild food recipes I know, chickw**d pesto is the taste of spring to me. I make it a little differently every time, so feel free to adjust this recipe to your own taste and what you have on hand.
First, be sure you’re harvesting the right plant (see last week’s post). Clean out any dead leaves, dirt, or debris, then give the chickw**d a coarse chop so the stems don’t wrap around your blade. Drop it into your food processor — a blender works in a pinch too.
Use about half as much extra‑virgin olive oil as chickw**d, and don’t skimp on the oil — it’s what makes the pesto creamy. For two cups of chickw**d, add roughly one cup of olive oil, drizzling it in slowly until you reach a smooth paste. Add ½ teaspoon salt, 3 cloves garlic, and 1 teaspoon lemon juice (which brightens the flavor and helps preserve the pesto). Blend again.
Next, add ½ cup finely chopped nuts of your choice. I use pecans because they’re native to my region, but walnuts, sunflower seeds, or whatever you prefer will work beautifully. Blend until everything becomes a fine, even paste, stopping to scrape down the sides as needed.
Spoon the pesto into half‑pint jars, top with a thin layer of olive oil, and store in the refrigerator for 1–2 weeks, or freeze for several months. I don’t add cheese to mine, but white miso or nutritional yeast gives a lovely umami note if you want it.
Chickw**d pesto makes a gorgeous pasta sauce, but I also love it on sandwiches, stirred into veggies or fish, or simply used as a dip. This recipe makes a thicker pesto, so if you’re using it for pasta, add a little more olive oil and salt to taste.
Enjoy — and let us know how yours turns out.
