Are nasturtiums taking over your garden? They are everywhere in my garden at the moment.

I started growing them for the flowers to decorate my cakes. But in this post I'm turning my attention to the nasturtium leaves.

The leaves are well know additions to salad giving a peppery flavour. But with the abundance of leaves growing on the plants, I needed to find a way to preserve them. I saw all the lovely lush green leaves on the plants, I thought they'd make a delicious pesto.

INGREDIENTS

• 140g nasturtium leaves
• 6-8 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 200g macadamia nuts, roasted
• 200g parmesan cheese, grated
• zest and juice of 1 lemon
• 320ml olive oil

METHOD

• Blanch nasturtium leaves for 10 seconds in boiling water, then refresh in iced water. Squeeze excess water from the leaves.
• Add leaves, garlic, macadamia nuts to the bowl of a food processor. Blend.
• Add the parmesan cheese, lemon zest and juice to the bowl and blend more.
• Drizzle in olive oil and continue to blend to desired consistency.
• Place pesto into jars, top with olive oil.

I made this batch and froze portions ready to use later. What a perfect way to preserve these peppery green leaves long after the plants have died back.