This week, maker Lily talks us through how she preserves her fresh herbs, and shares her simple but delicious vegan pesto recipe!

Everyone forgets about food in the fridge, but I find that fresh herbs and leaves are the first to go off without me realising. Here is a way I make my herbs go further...

Frozen Herb cubes!

I used Coriander for this, but it works with most herbs that are used as meal bases, like Parsley, Thyme, Rosemary (only leaves) or even Mint for sweeter recipes to blend into smoothies and cocktails. I’ve also done this with Kale and Spinach, but instead of using an ice cube tray, I de-stem any large leaves and pop these in a freezer bag.

Step 1:

Pick any leaves off of the main part of the stems.

Step 2:

Finely chop the stems until you reach the leaves.

Step 3 -

Place the chopped stems in an ice cube tray.

Step 4 -

Finely chop a small portion of the leaves and put them in the remaining space of the ice cube tray. Fill the tray with a little water or oil, and pop in the freezer.

Step 5 -

Once the herbs have frozen, push them out of the tray and put them in a Tupperware to store in the freezer. You now have herbs ready to cook with!

I use the frozen herb cubes in curries, stews and stir fries to name a few! Just pop them in the pan or pot after you’ve fried any onions or garlic, and let the water from the ice evaporate away.

Store in the freezer, and try to use within a month, however I’ve found this lasts as long as you need it to!

After I did this, I was still left with half the leaves, so I made…

All the Greens Pesto!

Ingredients:

• Roughly 3 mugs full of whatever herbs and leaves you have - I used Coriander, Rocket and Kale. (Kale makes it super creamy!)
• 3 Cloves of garlic
• 4 Tablespoons of seeds or nuts - I used sunflower seeds
• 3 Tablespoons of Nutritional Yeast (or Parmesan for non veggies)
• 2/3 Tablespoons of Lemon Juice (roughly half a lemon)
• 3 Tablespoons of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• A splash of water (add more after the first blend if needed)
• Salt and pepper to taste

Tips!

Some alternatives to try, but use up whatever you already have in your kitchen!

Herbs and leaves

Spinach, Basil, Parsley, Carrot Tops - literally any leaf or herb you have on hand. I usually put the stems in too for extra texture, but avoid this for greens with thicker, bitter stems like Kale and Rosemary.

Seeds and Nuts

Pine nuts for a more traditional pesto, Pumpkin seeds for a smokier flavour, Walnut for a nuttier flavour.

Olive oil

Infused Olive oils like Lemon or Chilli.

Note that different greens, seeds and nuts will change the texture and/or flavour, but still taste great!

Step 1 -

De-stem the kale, peel the garlic, chuck everything in a blender!

Step 2 -

Taste, add more herbs/lemon/salt/olive oil to your preference. Decant into a jar.

Step 3 -

Smother everything you have in Pesto!

I put this on toast with red onions and pumpkin seeds, on salads as a dressing, and at the end of the jar I mixed it with pasta water to make a pesto sauce pasta!

This lasts between 2 to 5 days in the fridge, depending on the freshness of your herbs.

Read our last DIY Tutorial here and remember to tag us in your creations (@wolfandmoonshop)!