The end of the day approached and Millar got a text message, ‘free food from the wake’. We trooped down the road double time towards the holist. There is something about travellers and I guess poor apprentices in the woods that lights up at the words free food and we go into survival mode. We hovered up the leftover sandwiches on the bar, dips and pita gone, tabbouleh finished. the barmaid proudly told each customer how Sally had said the food would need to be thrown out if they couldn’t find someone to eat it and she knew who to tell “Millar free food, now”. We felt we had done them a service.
It was a beautiful golden evening, we trooped back to the campfire to make nettle pesto, a goodbye meal with Ben. My fingers burned with stings and good company and good food made it a memorable last night. We shared millionaire’s shortbread and as a final farewell, Barley did his routine disappearing act at dusk. Dylan ran after him calling and he returned half an hour later tail wagging, it wouldn’t be a late night for Ben waiting for the call to pick Barley up 10 miles down the road. A goodnight sleep for all.
Ingredients
saucepan of nettles
chard leaves
pinenuts
2 sorrel leaves
4 cloves garlic
6 garlic chive leaves
2 sprigs thyme
1 sprig rosemary
2 sprigs marjoram
butter
Nettle Pesto
Bring nettles to the boil in a saucepan full of water to remove stings. Add chopped up chard leaves to boil for 5 minutes longer, reserving stalks. Take off heat, strain and chop up finely.
Meanwhile toast pinenuts and set aside. Fry chopped garlic in butter until golden and add chopped herbs for a further minute. Add chopped sorrel and sliced chard stalks cooking until soft.
Combine with all ingredients and stir together until warm, add to pasta and serve with Parmesan shavings.
2 Comments
I’m loving these running accounts of adventures that never forget how even the simplest of campfire preparations can be the most satisfying and exotic of feasts. If only such nettles grew in my parts of the world!