Make delicious chickweed, parsley or sorrel pesto

Some people may view chickweed as a weed, but Gerry Lurling of Wakefield sees it as a health food full of minerals and vitamins. and loves to make chickweed pesto.

Ingredients • 2 cups chickweed leaves • 2 cloves garlic • ¾ cup pine nuts (or walnuts or sunflower seeds) • 1 cup basil leaves (or sorrel, parsley, or a few sprigs of basil or oregano) • ¾ cup grated parmesan cheese • ½ cup olive oil Pulse garlic finely in a food processor. Add the remaining ingredients and process until smooth.

Jill Hammond of Napier loves parsley pesto. “I find it keeps its beautiful green colour, unlike basil pesto which very quickly turns an unsightly brown. I can freeze it and it makes no difference to taste or colour.“. Ingredients • 140g blanched almonds • 2 cups flat leaf parsley • 4 cloves garlic • ½ teaspoon salt • 1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese • ¾ cup (about) good quality olive oil Place the blanched almonds in a food processor and blitz till quite fine (not too fine; it‘s nice to have texture). Add parsley, garlic, salt and parmesan and process until roughly chopped. With the motor running, gradually add the olive oil in a thin stream. The pesto should be well combined but still have some texture. Store in clean jars in fridge or freezer.

Waiuku gardener Cornelia Rol’s pesto uses a bunch of sorrel leaves, 3-4 cloves of garlic, a small amount of parsley, ½ cup cashew nuts, salt to taste, olive oil and one squeezed lemon. Put everything in the blender and enjoy it on crackers or toast.