I like wild food.  Collecting nettles, kelp, and most recently, maple blossoms, is now a daily routine.  Working with these foraged treasures to create “Wow, that’s good!  Is there any more of that?” Food is a passion that has taken firm root.

It’s especially easy to get passionate about something you can reach from your front deck.  If only I had known they were edible before now.

I served this pesto on some grilled beef, alongside a Thai Noodle Salad.  It elicited “oohs” and “mmms” from both of us — all the way through to the last bite.   If Howard hadn’t eaten the rest of it straight out of the bowl, I would have probably used the rest for one of these ideas:

• Serve a generous dollop on top of poached/steamed/grilled fish
• Spoon smaller dollops on top of fresh oysters
• Mix equal parts pesto and mayo and serve on top of  cold lamb sandwiches
• Create a local and seasonal cold pasta salad

Maple Blossom-Mint Pesto

Yield:  approx ½ Cup

C=Cup       ml=millilitres        TT=to taste

Combine the maple blossoms, mint, garlic and nuts in a food processor.  With the motor running, pour the oil through the feed tube, and puree until almost smooth, scraping down the side of the bowl as necessary.  Season with s+p to taste (3 good pinches of salt, and 1 of pepper).

Serve immediately, or cover and store in the fridge for no more than 2 days.

Tips:

• Olive oil can be very strong — a milder variety works better here.  I also cut stronger tasting olive oils with safflower oil (about 2 parts olive to 1 part safflower) to tone things down a bit.
• Make this pesto your own, using different herbs such as cilantro, parsley, chives, etc.