Kitchen volunteer Sandy Gargus

Landscapers and gardeners will love you, and so will your dinner guests. Garlic mustard is an invasive weed that kills native species. To control its spread, it is best uprooted while in flower. Fortunately, all parts of the plant are edible, and its leaves and stems make a delicious pesto. Simon James and Henrik Knufermann harvested this batch from our grounds, and Sandy Gargus, a volunteer in our kitchen, came up with the recipe.

Ingredients:

• 10-12 cups loosely packed green leaves and stems garlic mustard
• 1 handful fresh basil
• 1-2 cloves garlic
• 3/4 – 1 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 – 1 tsp salt

Directions:

Blend until smooth in food processor. If preferred, one can add pine or other nuts and/or freshly grated parmesan cheese to the ingredients to be blended. Taste. You may wish to add a squeeze of fresh lemon. Yields 2 cups. Spread over pasta or vegetables and serve.

Garlic mustard flowering

Simon and Henrik, post gathering

Et voila! Pesto!