Spring Greens: Dairy-Free Pesto Recipe
One of the best ways to usher in the seasonal shift from winter to spring, is by enjoying and embracing wild greens. There are many leafy green herbs that pop up in early spring which support soil health, pollinators and your personal health as a human being!
Eating spring greens is a vibrant, exciting ritual that can reinforce your connection to the Earth. In my opinion, there is no better way to remember that I’m part of the Spring season than eating spring greens. What a great reminder that the nourishment you seek is a long tradition from many cultures: sweeping away those excessive winter calories with fresh & vital foods!
When eating your spring greens, it’s important to remember that you aren’t the only one who depends on them. Some important ethical wildcrafting rules (thinking @ Nettles) are: Only take what you need and only take from areas of abundance. It is also important to refresh on your plant ID skills. (See more about Nettles in our blog post here:)
Many of the first spring greens will be weeds in your or other people’s gardens. Be resourceful. Do you have a friend that needs to clear their garden bed of pesky weeds? Chances are, many of those “unwanted” little plants are actually healing, green food. Weeds like chickweed, cleavers, lambs-quarters, purslane, dandelion and sorrel are all incredible food sources. Many of these plants are bitter/or nutrient rich which can support the liver in clearing our excess and stagnation that is leftover from the winter season.
Follow the recipe below to make a bright, delicious, and dairy-free pesto to share with loved ones and celebrate spring.
Ingredients
- 1 cup fresh spring dandelion leaves
(try to harvest from a plant that hasn’t produced blooms yet) - ½ cup fresh spring nettle leaves
(snip the top of the nettle branches to get the tender first growth-don’t worry: the nettle will grow more after your pruning. Use gloves if you don’t want to get stung while picking) - ½ cup fresh spring chickweed (wash well)
- ½ cup crushed walnuts
- ½ cup olive oil
- ½ cup nutritional yeast
- juice of 1 lemon
- 3 garlic cloves (minced)
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp fresh ground peppercorns
*note: it is important to harvest your weeds & such from organic gardens & non-polluted areas
How To Make Dairy-Free Pesto Recipe
- Add all the fresh herbs and garlic into a food processor, OR mince until herbs are very fine.
- Add in crushed walnuts, nutritional yeast, and salt & pepper
- Slowly add in oil and lemon juice and olive oil, mix/process until herbs and spices are evenly dispersed and the mixture is a paste-like consistency.
- Enjoy as a topping or spread, on pasta, or in whatever way is calling to you!
