R and I have recently discovered the joys of having a stash of home-made pesto handy in the home. You can have it with almost anything! And it surely satisfies that savoury-craving in your mouth when you just need a quick bite to tide you over to your next meal!

Have it with

a) Pasta (go for penne or fettucine, shells and angel hair may not work so well)

b) Crackers (a dollop of pesto and a sprinkle of bacon bits would do the trick)

c) Tart shells (a true indulgence)

d) In cookies (will be trying this out soon!)

e) Sandwiches (as a spread with ham/ Cold Storage’s Roast Chicken – best thing that ever happened to Cold Storage)

f) Salad (as a dressing – resist the urge to pile it on)

g) Meat (as a sauce – drizzled to add an extra punch)

h) Soup (very Italian)

Honestly I believe that the way this is made is most likely going to get one Italian grandmother mighty annoyed – but I can’t bring myself to wait more than 5 minutes before I can have my pesto. If you are interested in the slow and steady way, check this out. But here’s how to make some super quick (even quicker than Donna Hay):

Super Quick Basil Pesto adapted from Donna Hay’s Issue 50 – Quick Fix

Equipment Needed

Hand Blender
Deep Container/ Bowl (wide enough to fit Hand Blender, deep enough that the contents won’t splash during blending)
Storage Container
Spoon with a long handle (for reaching into the deep container and for scooping out the remainder for tasting – my favourite part!)

Ingredients

1 cup basil leaves (30g – 40g worth)
2 tbsp pine nuts
1 clove garlic (optional)
¼ cup (about 20g) finely grated parmesan cheese
2 tsp finely grated lemon rind
½ cup (125ml) olive oil
sea salt and pepper to taste

Method

1. Place all ingredients in a deep container.

2. Plug in the hand blender, plant the blender head into the container.

3. Ready, set, BLLLLLEND!!!

4. Once the mixture reaches an even consistency, stop blending.

5. Ease the blender head out of the mixture and watch the glistening green pesto slowly trickle back into the container.

6. The pesto is ready for serving! You may wish to save some for snacking on – place in an air tight container and refrigerate for 2-3 days max.

7. After 2 – 3 days, repeat steps 1 -6.

Note: I’ve indicated garlic as optional as R and I are allergic to garlic, but please go ahead to add that right in, cos that really gives pesto an extra punch!

Let me know how this works out for you!