Perennial wall rocket pesto

Making rocket and walnut pesto - ingredients in the jug 

and pesto in the food processor and jar.

 When I finally got around to weeding my zucchini patch yesterday I found that one of the major 'weeds' was self-sown perennial wall rocket, aka Diplotaxis tenuifolia. This plant is not even in the same genus as the common annual rocket, Eruca sativa, yet it has a similar peppery taste, and is an equally good addition to salads. Unlike annual rocket, perennial rocket has a bushy rather than upright growth habit, and its flowers are yellow, not white. It has the advantage over annual rocket of being longer-lived, and it seeds just as freely. Its leaves are best eaten when they are young – they can be a bit strong when old. I ensure lots of younger leaves by clipping over my perennial rocket bushes when they start to flower.

I pulled out lots of young plants that were growing in the wrong place yesterday, and decided to try making rocket and walnut pesto with them. This turned out to be very tasty, and we will be eating it mixed with pasta, or spread on bread or crackers, just as we do with the basil pesto which I am also making lots of at present.

The recipe is below in case you have some rocket in your garden (the annual rocket would work just as well) and if you want to grow perennial rocket, just beg a young plant or some seeds from the next garden where you see it growing, and you will find it easy to keep growing yourself.

A plant of perennial wall rocket, Diplotaxis tenuifolia.

ROCKET AND WALNUT PESTO

Ingredients

3 cups rocket leaves – washed and dried

½ cup walnut pieces

½ cup Parmesan cheese, grated

3-4 cloves garlic, chopped

¼ tsp salt

olive oil, to mix

Method

Put the rocket leaves, walnut pieces, Parmesan cheese, garlic and salt in a food processor with a tablespoon or two of olive oil.

Process until the nuts and leaves are well-chopped and starting to form a smooth paste.

Add more olive oil and keep processing to make a soft paste which spreads easily.