Pesto Best-o! 16.02.21

Happy Pancake day!

What a week we are having! Just prepared 300 meals to go off to 360 Degrees Sports Coaching CIC, the winter shelter project is in full swing with more of our meals going to them every day, and it's Pancake day (one of my favourite days!)

Alas, I am not doing a pancake recipe (this week anyway, who knows what the future brings) but instead, a punchy Parsley Pesto! We are using the Pesto this week for a pasta dish with sun dried tomatoes, feta and corn for some fresh flavours ready to devour hot or cold. Normally Pesto is made with Basil, however as we try to use all our food surplus, we decided to make it with Parsley as that's what we had to hand! We also didn't use nuts in this recipe to make it accessable for those with nut allergies.

Pesto (nut free)

You will need

  • Bunch of fresh herbs, we used parsley.

  • 2/3 cloves of Garlic

  • 100g Parmesan or other hard cheese

  • Around 250ml Oil (olive oil is best, but whatever neutral tasting oil you have, we have rapeseed)

  • Salt and pepper to taste

  • Blender

  • Grater

  • Jar to store your pesto in afterwards.

Method

  1. Finely grate your garlic and parmesan into your blender (or jug if using a stick blender)

  2. Grab your parsley and tear or chop roughly but keep it chunky. Throw this into your blender with your cheese and garlic

  3. Add a dash or salt and pepper into the blender, with enough oil to just cover your herbs and blend until your mixture becomes smooth. At this point you may want to taste your mixture and adjust to your liking, does it need more herbs or cheese?

  4. Once blended place within your jar into the fridge and use within 5 days.


Why not...

  1. Try this with other greens (or a mix!), such as basil, spinach, or carrot tops!

  2. Smother this onto your favourite protein as a refreshing dinner sauce. Chicken and pesto is one of my favourites!

  3. Vegan? Omit the cheese or use a dairy free alternative. I would recommend adding nuts in for a smoother taste.

  4. If you are adding nuts, try to toast them beforehand before blending, try hazelnuts, walnuts or almonds, not just pine nuts!

  5. Mix this in with your mayo for a pimped up sarnie at lunch.

I hope you enjoy! Let me know if you make this or use this for any other recipes!

Tia