Pesto Perfection
This is a great children's cooking activity; it's action-packed and they can taste and see the vivid green results immediately. My kids love to pick and smell the herbs and press the buttons on the blender.
Dollop it on a bowl of pasta, in leftover mash or add to a fishcake mixture; stir it through goat's cheese or mayonnaise for crudités or arancini (Italian stuffed rice balls). A handful of frozen peas thrown in here (give them small bowls of frozen peas for snacks), some softly steamed broccoli forked through there, sauteed courgettes or leeks or a rinsed and drained can of borlotti or cannellini beans all make fine additions and will give your children a boost of vitamins and fibre. Hand round Parmesan cheese at the table, and dress their pasta with extra drizzles of olive oil; both make them feel grown up and teach them about taste.
Pesto keeps well under a layer of oil for a week or two in the fridge, so do consider making a double batch.
Ingredients
1-2 fat garlic cloves
50g toasted pine nuts
100g basil leaves
50g Parmesan, or Grana Padano, finely grated
120ml extra-virgin olive oil
Recipe
Put the garlic, pine nuts and basil leaves into a food processor or blender and pulse to a rough purée. Stir in the Parmesan (or Grana Padano) and then gradually pour in the extra-virgin olive oil.
Season to taste after adding the Parmesan, as it is a naturally salty cheese.
Pasta & pesto tip:
Always keep half a cup of the pasta cooking water back from the drained pasta. Cooked pasta absorbs moisture after cooking, so a previously shiny, glossy pesto can quickly become dry and mealy. Bring it back to its former glory by loosening the mixed pasta and pesto with as much of the cooking water as you need to moisten it and make it glossy again, adding a dash of extra-virgin olive oil for good measure.
Variations
Below are some delicious alternatives that my kids love. If you run low on pine nuts try substituting in hazelnuts, walnuts or almonds or even seeds and use any other combination of basil, tarragon, parsley or mint leaves; whatever happens to be growing in your garden or on your kitchen windowsill.
Pumpkin Seed & Parmesan Pesto
Crush 1 garlic clove and add to a blender with 100g pumpkin seeds, 100g finely grated Parmesan and 100ml extra-virgin olive oil and blitz until smooth but still with a little texture. Transfer to a bowl and stir through 1 tsp cider vinegar, 3 tbsp water (or more to loosen further). Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Spread onto oven-baked chicken thighs for their last 5 minutes of cooking and cook until bubbling; stir into a white garlic soup; or spread onto Crostini and top with smoked anchovy fillets.
Pea, Feta, Dill & Almond Pesto
In a dry pan toast 25g blanched almonds. Crush in a large pestle and mortar, then grind a little more with 200g peas (fresh or defrosted from frozen), gradually pouring in 75ml extra-virgin olive oil. Transfer to a bowl and, using a fork, stir in 3 tbsp chopped dill fronds, 100g crumbled feta and a few torn mint leaves. Season with salt and pepper.
This is perfect for dunking cooked chorizo sausages or king prawns; or spread onto soldiers for soft-boiled eggs, or tossed through a salad of griddled mangetout and served alongside a slow-cooked shoulder of lamb.
Kale & Hazelnut (Dairy-Free) Pesto
Wash 2 good handfuls of kale (coarse stalks removed) and dry well in a tea towel. Crush 1 garlic clove and blitz with the kale, 30g blanched hazelnuts, the rind of 1 preserved lemon and 1 tbsp thyme leaves. Drizzle in 100ml extra-virgin olive oil and 1 tsp runny honey, then blitz again until smooth. Season with salt and pepper.
Toss this pesto through boiled potatoes or gnocchi and serve with fishcakes or grilled salmon; dollop large spoonfuls onto cod fillets and bake until the fish is golden and crisp; or serve drizzled over burrata with toasted sourdough.