Red pepper & hazelnut pesto

I love any kind of pesto as I think it goes with so many things. Pasta is an obvious one, but a spoon on top of a risotto, roasted vegetables, fish or chicken works so well too. I particularly like this pesto with salmon as the red pepper and hazelnuts really compliment it.

In this recipe I have used jarred red peppers as they have a great flavour and texture, so I always use them rather than cooking my own. This saves quite a bit of prep time, but you can blacken your own if you prefer (here’s how in Step 3 of this recipe).

ingredients

Serves 6-8

• 4 roasted red peppers, deseeded

• 40g parmesan, roughly chopped

• 80g toasted hazelnuts

• 25g fresh basil leaves

• 1 tsp sea salt

• Juice of ¼ lemon

• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

method

• Put all the ingredients into a food processor and blitz until you have a rough paste. You’ll need to stop and scrape the sides down a couple of times.

tip

• If you don’t have a food processor you could use a hand blender or a pestle and mortar - if using a pestle them you would need to finely chop the red pepper with a knife and add to the mix at the end.

Broccoli & spring green salad with hasslebacks and wild garlic pesto

It’s officially spring and this salad is perfect for the time of year. Lots of greens, some crispy hassleback potatoes and a wild garlic pesto made from leaves picked in our local park. I love this salad served warm on it’s own or part of a spread. It would be great if you’re BBQing over the next few weeks too.

Ingredients

Serves 4-6

• 500g new potatoes

• 200g purple sprouting broccoli, trim & halve any with thick stalks

• 200g green beans, both ends cut

• 250g spring greens

• Juice of ½ lemon

Pesto

• 20g wild garlic (15 leaves)

• 30g basil

• 50g pinenuts

• 20g parmesan, grated

• 5 tbsp olive oil

• ¼ tsp sea salt

• Juice of ½ lemon

Method

• Preheat the oven to 200ºc.

• Make the pesto: toast the pine nuts in a frying pan (no oil) for 2-3 minutes, watching closely so they don’t burn. Allow them to cool before making the pesto. Next blitz the parmesan in the food processor and then add the rest of the ingredients. Set aside.

• Prep the potatoes: put them, one at a time, onto a wooden spoon and, starting at one end, cut across their width at 3mm intervals with a sharp knife – the spoon keeps the potato stable and stops you from cutting all the way through.

• Spread the potatoes on a baking tray, drizzle with 2-3 tbsp olive oil and sprinkle each one with sea salt. Roast for 50 minutes until the tops are crispy.

• Heat ½ tbsp olive oil in a large frying pan and char the broccoli for approx 10 minutes until just cooked, so it still has a bite.

• While the broccoli is cooking, steam the green beans for 5-6 minutes.

• Warm a plate briefly in the oven and then put the cooked broccoli and green beans on it while you prepare the spring greens. Cover the plate loosely with tin foil.

• Add the spring greens to the same pan as you used for the broccoli. Drizzle with a little olive oil, if needed, sprinkle with salt and fry on a low-medium heat for 3 minutes to soften.

• Toss the veggies in ½ tbsp olive oil, plus the juice of ¼ lemon and a pinch of salt, then arrange on a serving plate, spreading each vegetable out as evenly as possible.

• Nestle the potatoes in between the greens, top with spoons of pesto and squeeze over the remaining lemon quarter if needed. Serve straight away.

Roasted red pepper pesto

I’ve been experimenting with different pesto combinations recently as there are so many variations you can make and I love how it works with so many things: pasta, gnocchi, roasted veggies, sandwiches and fish or meat too.

This time I decided to use roasted red peppers with cashews, but you could swap for hazelnut or pine nuts if you prefer. You can also add a tablespoon or two of crème fraîche to make it creamy, which is especially good with gnocchi, as I always find it needs a bit more sauce than pasta.

The other great thing about pesto is that it freezes really well; I usually divide some into small portions that defrost quickly to make a tasty pasta when the fridge is empty!

Ingredients

Serves 6-8

• 4 red peppers

• 50g parmesan

• 60g cashews

• 1 clove garlic

• 50g basil

• 1 tsp sea salt

• Juice of ½ lemon

• 2 tbsp olive oil, optional

Method

• Put the whole red peppers on a sheet of tin foil and place under a hot grill, blacken on all sides - this should take about 12-15 minutes, turning every 2-3. Wrap in the foil once cooked and leave to cool for 5 minutes, then peel and deseed. Allow to cool completely before making the pesto.

• Start by putting the parmesan into a food processor and pulse a few times so it is a very rough crumble, then add cashews and repeat.

• Next add the garlic, blitz and then put in the basil, lemon and salt. Pulse until you have a rough paste and there are no large bits of any of the ingredients.

• Add a little olive oil to loosen if needed, this will also help the pesto bind with pasta or gnocchi.

tip

• You can use jarred red peppers to save time.

• Roast the red peppers a day or two beforehand, so they don’t have to cool and you can use them straightaway.

• If you don’t have a food processor you could use a hand blender or a pestle and mortar - if using a pestle them you would need to finely chop the red pepper with a knife and add to the mix at the end.

Spinach & cashew pesto

Spinach pesto is a bit lighter and less aromatic than straight-up basil and works really well with the delicate flavour and texture of homemade gnocchi.

Now I realise that making gnocchi from scratch is probably not exactly at the top of your job list in the middle of lockdown when we’re all juggling a million things, so you could easily just use shop-bought or any kind of pasta as a sub - it’ll still be really delicious. The cooking method I recommend for shop-bought gnocchi is frying with olive oil in a hot pan for about 5 minutes, no need to boil. I think you get a better taste and texture that way.

As I haven’t actually made much gnocchi until recently (thank you Lockdown 1 & 3), I haven’t developed my own recipe as yet, so I’ve been using a really reliable one by The Smitten Kitchen if you fancy giving it a go. I’m not quite sure how I could improve on it to be honest, but I’ll experiment with a few different methods over the next few weeks and then develop my own version.

You’ll be pleased to know that the pesto is super easy to make as long as you have a food processor (I know, Nonna would turn in her grave), if not, it’s the traditional Italian way with elbow grease and a pestle and mortar.. way more authentic, but a little more time-consuming!

Ingredients

Serves 8

• 60g cashews

• 1 clove garlic

• 30g parmesan

• 4 tbsp olive oil

• 80g spinach

• 20g basil

• 1/2 tsp sea salt

• Juice of ½ lemon

Method

• Preheat the oven to 160ºc and toast the cashews on a baking tray for 6-7 minutes until slightly browned.

• Allow the nuts to cool while you get all the other ingredients weighed out.

• Put the parmesan in a food processor and blitz to a crumble, then add the nuts and pulse a few times.

• Add all the rest of the ingredients and continue to pulse until you have a paste-like texture. You will need to scrape down the sides at least a couple of times to ensure that all the ingredients are mixed evenly.

tip

• You can substitute the cashews for pine or hazelnuts if you prefer.

Orzo, roast tomato & broccoli salad with pesto

This is a quick and easy salad that can be eaten warm or cold, so it’s a good one to make all year round. I also like to add a little cheese to this dish by crumbling over some feta or grilling 2-3 slices of halloumi;. It goes really well with roast chicken, pan fried fish or even chickpeas roasted in a pan with a little olive oil, salt and a squeeze of lemon.

Ingredients

Serves 4-6

• 1 head broccoli, chopped into florets

• 400g cherry tomatoes, halved

• 1 tbsp rapeseed or olive oil

• 350g orzo

• 20g toasted almond flakes

• 2 tbsp any kind of pesto - I made some myself, but you can use jarred or fresh ready made from the supermarket.

  Pesto

  Makes enough for this recipe plus 4 servings with pasta

• 90g basil - or wild garlic when it’s in season (March/April)

• 1 small clove garlic (but don’t add if you’re using wild garlic!)

• 2 tbsp lemon juice (approx juice of 1 lemon)

• 6 tbsp olive oil

• 60g pine nuts

• 15g parmesan, chopped roughly

• 1/2 tsp sea salt

  Method

• Preheat the oven to 180°c

• First make the pesto by putting all the ingredients into a food processor and blitzing until they form a loose paste-like texture. If the parmesan isn’t grated add this first and blitz, followed by the pine nuts and repeat, then add the rest of the ingredients. You don’t want it too smooth though as pesto isn’t a purée!

• Next put the veggies on a large tray so they have plenty of space and drizzle with the oil, sprinkle with salt and mix well. Roast for 12 mins, then turn the broccoli and put back in the oven for a further 5-8 minutes so it has started to brown a little on the other side, but still has a bit of a bite.

• While the veggies are roasting, cook the orzo as per the packet instructions - usually boil for 10 mins - then drain thoroughly and stir in the pesto.

• Spoon the orzo and veggies on to a serving plate, season and sprinkle with toasted almonds.

• Serve straightaway if you want the salad warm. Otherwise leave to cool and eat at room temperature.

  Tips

• All salads taste better when eaten at room temperature, rather than chilled, so remember to take it out of the fridge about an hour or so before eating.

• Try adding some sliced avocado if you’re eating it at room temperature.

• A drizzle of posh balsamic or balsamic glaze (same sweet tangy flavour as the posh, but way cheaper!) would also work well.

• Make the pesto a day or so ahead so you cut down on the prep time. Pesto stores really well in the fridge for 7 days or freezes for up to 3 months and this recipe will give you enough to add to another meal at least, so it’s a good one to make ahead and save time in the kitchen later. I love to roast a tray of mixed vegetables and add a few dollops of pesto or it’s great added to risotto as a flavour boost at the end.

Basil pesto

This is my go-to basil pesto recipe that I’ve made countless times. This will make a big batch so you can freeze half of it to use another time. Half is enough to serve 4-5 with pasta. I also like to use pesto on any kind of roasted veggies, grilled fish, risotto - loads of things as it’s so versatile and adds a spike of flavour to make a dish more interesting.

Ingredients

• 90g fresh basil

• 1 small clove garlic

• 2 tbsp lemon juice

• 6 tbsp olive oil

• 60g pine nuts

• 15g grated parmesan

• 1/2 tsp sea salt

Method

• Put the parmesan in the food processor and blitz for a few seconds until crumbled, then add the pine nuts and repeat.

• Put in the rest of the ingredients and pulse until you have a rough paste-like texture.