Spinach salad with garlic chive and basil pesto

Main courseServes 4

Ideal for a warm April weekend and the perfect accompaniment to a BBQ, why not give this Spinach salad with garlic chive and basil pesto a try from the team at Herbs Unlimited based at Sandhutton near Thirsk www.herbsunlimited.co.uk.

Ingredients

For the salad:

Broad beans

Crispy Bacon

Baby leaf spinach

Croutons

Mizuna leaves

Salad Burnet leaves (cucumber like flavour)

Any other salad leaves of choice, make it your own!

For the Pesto:

50g garlic chives

25g pine nuts

1 garlic clove crushed

200ml extra virgin olive oil

35g grated parmesan

Method

    Variations for the pesto:
  1. Nasturtium pesto – use both the flowers and the leaves from edible flowers for a dash of colour and new taste
  2. Basil pesto – replace garlic chives with fresh basil leaves for a traditional pesto
  3. Rocket pesto – use up rocket for a punchy flavour
  4. Other uses for garlic chives – add to white bread so the green chives add colour as well as flavour, or add to garlic butter for extra flavour – matches well with eggs, chicken, shellfish, soft cheese and pork dishes.