Pesto
All recipes provided by Louisa Chapman-Andrews from Cook Folk
Pesto is so incredibly easy and quick to make yourself that I think it would take more time to run to the shop to buy a jar! Plus it’s so much more delicious when it’s homemade, keeps in the fridge for weeks, freezes well and is a great use up for any leafy greens you have lying around. A no brainer really.
• You will need a small food processor or the large barrel of a nutribullet/ninja for this
• Take any leafy greens and soft herbs that you have – winter and spring greens, kale, spinach, chard, cavolo nero, parsley and of course basil all work brilliantly
• Fill your small food processor with your leaves/herbs – a good and cost effective ratio is two parts leaves and one part herbs – usually around three small handfuls in total
• Add in one garlic clove, 2tbs of a hard cheese like parmesan or pecorino, another 2tbs of nuts/seeds (I like to mix it up and use hazelnuts with cavolo nero for example), 2tbs of cold pressed extra virgin olive oil, the juice of half a lemon and some salt and pepper
• Blitz till you have a homogenous green mass – I like to leave a little texture in mine
• Taste and adjust your seasoning and flavours – saltiness from the cheese, richness from the nuts/seeds, sharpness from the lemon and texture from the oil – it wants to be quite loose and oily
• Once you are happy pour into a jar and cover with a film of oil or freeze in ice cube trays for use later
