Thursday, 8 January 2009

pasta and pesto

I love pesto. It makes a great addition to many things, I love spreading it across lasagna sheets for a richer flavour. It's really easy to make, too. Lots of oil and whatever you like best, I like to make a basil and pine nut pesto but I'm looking forward to giving a sun-dried tomato pesto a go sometime soon. I know many people use a food processor for their pesto, but I prefer to use my mortar and pestle.

If you've never made it before it's easy, two handfuls of basil leaves, no stems, a whole lot of pine nuts, some pepper if you're in to that sort of thing and then gradually a whole lot of olive oil, until you're happy with the consistency (continuously pounding/processing).

pesto

For a warm summer evening, a little pesto tossed through some pasta is a quick, easy way to make dinner without sweltering in a tiny kitchen. For the pasta below I added about a half a cup of frozen peas to the pasta in the last minute or so of cooking, and wilted a handful of baby spinach by rinsing them in the colander and draining the pasta over the top of them. Quick rinse through, then back in the pot to toss the pesto through. The pesto was very creamy, I think it was the masses of oil I pounded in to it.

pesto pasta

The only problem with pesto pasta for dinner is that I find it tends not to reheat so well the next day, so it's not great for taking to work.

6 comments:

Theresa said...

I love pesto pasta, and eat it cold the next day so I dont' have to worry about reheating!

steph said...

Ugh, no Theresa, I can't stand cold pasta! It's like cold pizza, just no good! :o)

Single White Female said...

Great minds certainly think alike!!
I just posted a very similar simple pesto pasta then thought I would check out what you have been up too :)

Can't wait for the weekend, Perth International Beer festival at Langley Park on Saturday and Lancelin on Sunday....ahhh...

Anonymous said...

I do love pesto! What a lovely mortal and pest(o)le. ;)

steph said...

Hey SWF, I hope you have fun at the beer festival! Not really my thing (beer ew ;P) but I have many friends who are going to be elbowing their way around there!

steph said...

Thanks, Ricki! I love that mortar and pestle, it is the same as the one my mum has used for almost as long as she's been in Australia, and I hope mine lasts just as long. :o)