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Linguine with Wild Garlic Pesto

Chef Hayden Groves shows you a simple way to enjoy the UK's annual wild garlic harvest

10 minutes prep, 15 minutes cook

Serves 4

Ingredients

150g wild garlic, tough stalks removed, leaves washed

2 garlic cloves, crushed

75g pine nuts, lightly toasted and cooled

75g parmesan, finely grated, plus extra to serve

150ml olive oil

A pinch of caster sugar

A few drops of lemon juice

400g linguine

Method

Tear or roughly chop the wild garlic and place in a small food processor with the crushed garlic and a good pinch of sea salt. Blitz to a rough paste, then add the pine nuts and parmesan and pulse again.

Continue blending while you slowly add almost all the oil. Taste, season with salt and pepper. Add a pinch of sugar and the lemon juice.

Transfer the pesto to a clean jar, top with the remaining oil and cover (this can be made in advance and will keep in the fridge for up to a week – just bring it back to room temperature before use).

Cook the linguini in salted water following the packet instructions. Drain, reserving a little of the cooking water. Mix as much pesto as you like into the pasta and add a splash or two of the water until you get the desired consistency.

Serve with a little grated parmesan over the top.