Raw Silene Vulgaris Pesto with Cashews

For this recipe you need a good handful of Silene vulgaris (bladder campion), a wild spring plant known in Italy by many local names: grisol, strigoli, stridoli, carletti, strisci, scrissioi, s-ciopit or sclopit, zimole, s-ciopetin, verzulì, cuiet, versèt, concigli.

So many names tell us how widespread this perennial plant is all over Italy, where it is traditionally used in risotto, frittata, savoury pies and as a filling for fresh pasta.

Here is a very simple raw pesto you can use to dress pasta, rice or other grains, or serve as a dip with cecina or crudités.

If you want to learn more about this plant, you can find plenty of information here (in Italian).

1 handful of Silene vulgaris
1/2 garlic clove
2 espresso cups of cashews, soaked for 3 hours in lukewarm water
3 g coarse salt
extra virgin olive oil and pepper

Wash the silene, peel the garlic and put them in a blender with the drained cashews, the salt, a pinch of pepper and 1 espresso cup of olive oil. Blend until smooth and creamy. If needed, add a couple of tablespoons of water to loosen the pesto.
Serve at room temperature or cold.

In the photo you can see toasted fregola, a typical Sardinian pasta, dressed with this pesto and served with a few pieces of cecina.

2 cups chickpea flour
2 espresso cups extra virgin olive oil
lukewarm water
salt

Put the chickpea flour in a bowl with a pinch of salt and the oil. Gradually add water, whisking constantly, until the batter has the consistency of a runny béchamel.
Cover and leave to rest in the fridge overnight.

The next day, stir the batter with a fork. Heat a non-stick or iron pan, grease it lightly with olive oil and, when hot, pour in a ladleful of batter. Cook on both sides until the centre is set too (test with a toothpick, as you would for a cake). Place the cecine on a plate lined with paper as they are ready. Serve hot or at room temperature.

Alternatively, bake them in the oven at 200°C for 20 minutes on a tray lined with baking paper (or directly on a cast iron baking sheet, if you have one).