Pesto, presto!

My favorite pasta topping is probably pesto, which literally means 'paste'- you can pretty much throw everything into it. And so I did. The mint / walnut combo was quite nice, the ingredients worked fine together and the outcome was tasty but not overly strong (as I feared at some point when I bashed the mint and the smell was VERY strong).
This is great with pasta, but also fantastic to coat grilled chicken or any sort of baked cheese, like ricotta.

Minted Walnut Pesto

50 grs mint leaves (picked and chopped)
1/2 garlic glove
4 Tbsp walnuts (lightly toasted)
50 ml olive oil (used a delicate one, with low acidity)
1/2 cup grated Parmesan

Put walnuts coarsely chopped in a saucepan with a little olive oil and toss for a couple of minutes, just to warm through. In a pestle and mortar, pound the garlic with a pinch of salt, add mint leaves and bash. Remove mixture to a bowl. Bash walnuts and add to mint puree. Add half the cheese, some olive oil and stir. Season to taste. Add most of the remaining Parmesan and some more oil. Keep doing so until you get the right taste and consistency.

11 minutes, 36 seconds and a Pasta Dish

My quick meals for unexpected lunch "guests" (ie. my hubby, aka The Official Taster) are often pasta with all sort of vegetables available in the fridge. And if you have a good homemade pesto and Parmesan, then all is fine. I'm a pesto lover - either basil traditional pesto or any version with rocket, mint or even parsley will do.

It took me little over 10 minutes to fix us lunch. Spaghetti cooked with a pinch of salt and olive oil, some peas, a couple of spoons of Cilantro & Almond Pesto topped with Parmesan and halved tomatoes.


Cilantro & Almond Pesto*

50 grs cilantro leaves (picked and chopped)
1/2 garlic glove
4 Tbsp bleached almonds (toasted)
50 ml olive oil (best quality possible)
1/2 cup grated parmesan

Put almonds in a saucepan with a little olive oil and toss for a couple of minutes, just to warm through. Pound the garlic with a pinch of salt and cilantro and bash. You can either use a food processor or a pestle and mortar - I prefer the latter. Remove to a bowl. Bash almonds and add to cilantro puree. Add half the cheese, some olive oil and stir. Season to taste. Add most of the remaining Parmesan and some more oil. Keep doing so until you get the right taste and consistency.

*Quantities not mandatory - adjust as you find necessary.