Rocket and Walnut Pesto

I mentioned last week when I announced the theme for Pasta Please this month that I am particularly keen on quick recipes that I can get to the table (well, sofa) as quickly as possible. Although Roo is now getting a little easier in the evening in that she is in bed before we are, the time around bedtime for both children is proving difficult in terms of getting dinner done for me and Mr K.

I had a bit of a glut of rocket recently, thanks to D requesting it and then deciding he didn't want it. Given that the quality of pine nuts can be unreliable, that they can be expensive and that I can't have them in the house without nibbling, I decided to go with a different nut - the walnut. I have to say, overall, this was my favourite combination of the year so far. It makes for a rather peppery meal, with a decent whack of garlic beneath it.

Stats: - Serves two adults generously, covering 150g of pasta well.

Ingredients: -

60g of rocket

1 tbsp of lemon juice

2 cloves of garlic

30g of parmesan (this does mean the recipe is not officially vegetarian - although there are many substitutes that are vegetarian out there)

30g shelled walnuts

1 tbsp of olive oil

Put all of the ingredients into a blender and whizz. If the mixture is too dry or doesn't incorporate well, add a little more olive oil to loosen it.

I am so glad that I took the arty shot of the pesto above... because I made that mistake of not quite picking the right pasta to go with it. I was bought some really nice pasta for Christmas - star shapes in green, red and white and I was so keen to make use of it in a beautiful picture... this was not the recipe for that! As you can see, all of the pasta ended up being the same colour and possibly through overcooking, the shape has all been lost.