Think outside the jar with this delightful lovage and walnut pesto. It’s light and summery and full of flavour. Serve it with everything from pasta to sandwiches and so much more.
Come on, how many people think that pesto is only made with basil, if you do you won’t be the only one.
So many people only think of pesto as the green jars of basil stuff in the supermarket. Making your own is a breeze and there are lots of different types. This lovage and walnut pesto is one of my favourites.
Pesto is not just about basil
Pesto is such a useful sauce and I make it out of all sorts of herbs and veggies and different types of nuts too. In this recipe I’m using walnuts instead of the pine nuts that are usually associated with pesto.
The walnuts have a good strong flavour that pairs well with lovage which has a strong flavour itself.
Toasting walnuts
When toasting the walnuts break them up a bit first and then toast in a dry pan and don’t let them burn or you will have to start again. You will know when they are ready (about 1 minute) when they turn just golden and that lovely nutty aroma comes off them.
Lovely lovage
If you haven’t heard of lovage it is a huge leafy herb that has the taste of celery. You can use the young tender leaves in salads and use all other leaves for soup and sauces etc.
It is an easy herb to grow and will come back year after year and survives almost anything, including the harshness of winter life up here on Walton’s Mountain.
This lovage and walnut pesto is simply whizzed up in your food processor. If you want to go the old fashioned and correct (according to the Italians who invented pesto) way use a pestle and mortar and make it by hand.
How to serve this pesto
Serve your lovage and walnut pesto stirred into plain pasta as I have here.
Lovage and walnut pesto goes beautifully with roast chicken, as part of a salad dressing, in sandwiches or as a dip.
How long will this pesto keep
It will keep in the fridge for up to 2 weeks in a sealed jar. Just make sure the top of the lovage pesto is covered with a little oil to keep that gorgeously vibrant green colour.
Can you freeze pesto?
Yes you certainly can. Just spoon it into a labelled freezer bag and your lovage and walnut pesto will freeze for up to 3 months.
You can also freeze this pesto in an ice cube tray then pop out the cubes of pesto and freeze them in a bag. This way you have perfect little portions of pesto to add to soups etc whenever you fancy it.
My book – A Passion For Pesto
I love pesto and have even written an Ebook about it. A Passion For Pesto contains lots of valuable information on pest itself plus over 75 recipes for making pesto from everything from herbs to vegetables and even weeds too.
I’ve also included recipes for sweet pestos made from fruits and berries perfect for desserts. Plus there are lots of fun recipes for cooking with pesto.
Looking for more fun and easy pesto recipes? Then check these out before you go;
Apple celery and coriander pesto
Finally, if you do try this recipe don’t forget to leave a comment/star rating below as I just love to hear from readers. Want more Larder Love? Then follow me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter and sign up for my newsletter too of course.
Lovage And Walnut Pesto
Ingredients
- 1 cup lovage leaves
- 2 tbsp walnuts
- 1 clove garlic chopped
- 1 lemon juice and zest
- Salt and pepper
- 3 tbsp Olive oil
- 1 tbsp parmesan
Instructions
- Break up the walnuts and toast them in a dry pan for approximately 1 minute until golden and aromatic
- Allow to cool
- Whizz with all other ingredients in food processor or use pestle and mortar
I was looking for Lovage recipes and this Pesto is amazing! I am using it as salad dressing, fantastic. Thank you
Hi Claudia
So glad someone else uses lovage. My garden is full of the stuff!
K
My mom always had lovage in her garden, she used it mostly in soup. I finally got a plant and looking for other uses and recipes. I will definitely make this pesto. What else do you do with it?
Hi Lucia
I use love in soups, the young leaves in salads, in pestos of course and add some chopped leaves to spinach or kale when steaming them
K
OMG, this is great stuff! Hadn’t ever done anything more than chop a small handful of leaves into a salad before. And wasn’t sure I’d love the flavor of this pesto. But I do. Thanks so much for posting this — I wouldn’t ever have thought to try making a pesto with my lovage! And will probably try some of your other ideas… One q: do you find lovage still makes a great pesto, later in the season? It’s early June now, which I expect is the towards the end of the season for young/tender lovage leaves. Thanks again! I will be making lots more of this 🙂
Hi Lisa
So glad you found by blog and like the lovage pesto recipe. Yes I do use it to make pesto later in the season. The flavour is stronger then but still really nice. You can always add some parsley to it to reduce the lovage flavour.
K
I am lucky enough to have a large lovage in the back garden. Also wild garlic so I added some leaves as well. Spread it on top of pork chops and roasted them for about 30 minutes. Delicious .
Hi Gareth
That sounds delicious.
K
I absolutely love this pesto! I used it for pasta salad and will definitely make again and freeze some. I substituted Asiago for the Parmesan (just what I had), and next time I will add more walnuts- this will be so enjoyable in the dead of winter to serve a little taste of spring ❤️
Hi Tina,
So glad you like this recipe so much, it really is one of my favourite pesto recipes.
K
I’m a part-time resident of Quebec and was curious about lovage, having seen it available in a local nursery, along with other herbs that I wouldn’t have seen in my southeastern U.S. nurseries. So I’d planted it as an experiment and it was growing robustly when we arrived back for our summer and fall time here. It was VERY ROBUST, so I started looking for ways to use it and came across your post.
Lovage pesto made with leaves is fantastic — I didn’t even have any walnuts, and it was still delicious. I’ve made pesto with other herbs in addition to basil (parsley and cilantro, especially), and hadn’t had high hopes for lovage since raw, it smells a bit odd, and cooked petioles are marginal, although edible.
Totally loved it. Thanks for the inspiration!
Hi Lisa
So thrilled you liked my lovage pesto recipe. Have to agree it really is a robust plant. I planted one small plant about twelve years ago and have several HUGE plants now from that one little original. I make a lot of pesto in the summer months!
K