I once co-hosted a Slow Food banquet in Bristol with chef Giorgio Locatelli and Dan Saladino from the Radio 4 Food Programme, to celebrate the extraordinary heritage fruits, vegetables, animal breeds and food products listed in Slow Food’s Ark of Taste, many of which are at risk of extinction. This is a global Slow Food initiative to record and protect traditional and indigenous foods, from the black salt of Boke, Ethiopia, to the Tamworth pig, which I served from nose to tail as a main course at the banquet. Locatelli’s chosen ingredient was the bronte pistachio, which he showcased with the most luxurious tart. Here, I’ve adapted his recipe for a classic basil pesto to use up excess fennel fronds, and used pistachios instead of pine nuts, not only because they’re incredible in pesto but also as nod to that amazing tart.
