wild violet leaf + flower pesto

happy summering everyone ~ yesterday my daughter wanted some extra money, and she wildcrafts with me for that. i was ready to hit the mountains, so we went. we went to see what was growing and came upon a meadow filled with wild yellow violets + we sat and picked as a spring storm was rolling in. i make pesto out of pretty much any green, and wild violet pesto is packed full of vitamins and minerals. the variety of wild violets here are viola glabella, also known as stream violet. which wikipedia says is edible and the flowers can cause diarrhea, i am proceeding with my dinner. you should however fully research your plants ahead of time, and make sure you want to make food or medicine out of them before harvesting. a ‘can cause diarrhea’ warning isn’t enough for me, but we must all make our own judgment call on that. for me personally driving a car is much more dangerous than eating violet leaves and flowers. just make sure you know the botanical name, and research from there. i made a meal out of this without any ill effects in the bathroom or anywhere for that matter.

wild violets galore 💛 once home i spread the violets out to inspect and allow any bugs to vacate. these were clean to me and i didn’t wash them, but you will have to make your own call on that.

perfect pesto in my opinion is a combination of wild greens and savory garden herbs. i went with basil to pair with the wild violet leaves and flowers. i loosely follow the pesto recipe in kami mcbride’s book the herbal kitchen. if you don’t own this book, you should. she recommends skipping the cheese, and i have been making cheese-less pesto for years now and i prefer it, plus it freezes much better without it. i make and freeze pesto for year-round meals. nettle, chickweed, and spruce tip are a few of my favorites.

3 cups fresh wild greens

1 cup savory garden herbs

3/4 cup nuts or seeds ~ i like walnuts

4 whole garlic cloves

3/4 cup olive oil

salt to taste

wiz up in a food processor or good blender and ta ~ da, wild food love. it was getting late and we had already had dinner when this was finished, so I froze the pesto in pint canning jars. make sure and label, because once you start making and freezing pesto, you will be making all different kinds.

you can use the pesto in any pesto way you like. on pasta, pizza, a dip, or dressing base. happy foraging

 some of the resources i used:

http://fieldguide.mt.gov/speciesDetail.aspx?elcode=PDVIO040P0

https://www.chaofbc.ca/violet-monograph/

susun weed's book ~ healing wise