A new recipe offers a creative way to use up fennel fronds, turning them into a fragrant pesto with pistachios. The dish is inspired by a Slow Food banquet in Bristol, where chef Giorgio Locatelli showcased bronte pistachios. This adaptation uses fennel fronds instead of basil and pistachios instead of pine nuts, reducing food waste while delivering a rich, glutamate-packed dressing.
The pesto combines garlic, pistachios, fennel fronds, lemon juice, pecorino, and olive oil. While Locatelli advocates for a mortar and pestle, the recipe suggests a blender for ease. The pesto can be used immediately but benefits from resting for several hours or a day to meld flavours. It keeps in the fridge for up to five days.
For a complementary salad, fennel bulbs are thinly sliced, dressed with olive oil, lemon, salt, and pepper, then topped with the pesto and pecorino shavings. The salad can be served straight away or left to sit. This recipe is part of a broader effort to minimise kitchen waste, using parts of vegetables often discarded.
