When I first made nasturtium pesto I thought I’d had a flash of sheer genius and my name would go down in the culinary annals of history. I was wrong of course, a quick Google brings up any number of variations, but I still think mine is the best! Nasturtium leaves and flowers have a lovely warm peppery flavour and make a fabulous addition to Spring, Summer and Autumn salads as well as giving depth to this pesto sauce.
I grew these beauties from seed last Spring and, thanks to the mild winter, they are still going strong! I love the way nasturtiums climb up and around and along, turning their colourful faces to the light long after most of the summer flowers have gone.
Nasturtium flowers are so pretty just scattered over a salad or sitting atop a luscious lemon cake but, today, it is the leaves which take centre stage. My pesto is simple to make, full of peppery goodness and vegan too! If you want the full nasturtium effect use large leaves as plates topped with a flowery late summer salad, drizzled with leaf pesto!
If you want to grow your own nasturtiums for pretty salads next year they really are very easy! Once you’ve grown them and enjoyed them, let them go to seed and you can make ‘Poor Man’s Capers’ with them! Also, if you let them drop their seeds, you’ll have a fresh supply of leaves and flowers next year!
Serving Suggestions
Nasturtium pesto is so versatile, it’s peppery flavour adds oomph to lots of dishes:
- Stir it into pasta or couscous
- Mix it with a little balsamic vinegar to make a delicious drizzle to pour over risotto
- Serve with veggie burgers or mashed potato cakes
- Add it to a late summer Garden Salad
- Spoon it onto Roast Aubergine Soup
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My recipes for
Nasturtium Pesto
Ingredients
- 1 cup tightly packed nasturtium leaves
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup pine nuts
- 1 large garlic clove - peeled and roughly chopped
- 1/3 cup nutritional yeast (optional)
- salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Instructions
- Wash and dry the nasturtium leaves
- Toast the pine nuts in a small saucepan over a low heat until just browned
- Add all the ingredients to the bowl of a food processor and whizz until smooth
- Spoon into a clean jar
- Keeps in the fridge for about 10 days
love it! can’t beat home made pesto but who’d have thought to use nasturtium – certainly not me!
🙂 Thanks Helen! x
I’ve just made some using cashew nuts instead of pine nuts. I also added a squeeze of lemon. It’s so good and much nicer than I imagined.
I’m so glad you liked it! It’s a very surprising taste isn’t it?!
This looks delicious, I may have to grow some nasturtiums especially.
It is and you should! 🙂
You are super genius. Am very impressed. The colour is amazing.
Astonishing taste – didn’t need any pepper – it was zingy enough without!
You forgot to use the flowers also!
I use the flowers in salads and on cakes but not in pesto as they change that lovely bright green colour!
Excellent tasting nasturtium pesto, easy to do in my liquidiser. Great with hazel nuts. Best after 3 days in fridge but good straight away too, lasts 20 days so far. No ‘dark materials’ but still bewitching. A SeedsistAs triumph, thanks
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