mummy's making pesto

some parsley pesto (with a few flecks of basil)

I was rather excited to successfully grow loads of curly old fashioned parsley in early summer. I now know this hardy herb is rather easy to grow and we have it coming out our ears, as they say! But, at that stage being new to patio gardening in pots, it built up my confidence - wow, I could plant something and it didn’t die! Not only that, it thrived! And, since then I have successfully grown tomatoes, capsicums, broccoli over the summer.

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But, what to do with loads of curly (rather scratchy?) parsley? I didn’t want to completely de-nude the tender young basil for a basil pesto, so decided to combine parsley and basil in a 2:1 ratio in my version of a parsley pesto.

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1 clove garlic

pinch of salt

50g pine nuts

2 handfuls curly parsley leaves, blanched in hot water and roughly patted dry

1 small handful basil leaves, washed and patted dry

150ml extra virgin olive oil

50g freshly grated parmesan

Juice from half medium lemon

In pestle and mortar smash the garlic cloves with the salt, then add the nuts and crush. Tip into a your food processor bowl, a medium mixing bowl - or, as I did, into the tall plastic jug that matches my kitchen stick blender. Add the parsley and basil half a handful at a time and whiz until a thick green paste forms, and whiz until the nuts and herbs reach your desired texture. Then pour in the oil in a thin stream and gently stir through with a spoon. Stir in the cheese. Taste and season.

Keep well covered in the fridge in a glass jar so you can see the lovely green glossiness peeping at you. It may need a thin layer of olive oil over the top to stop it going brown.

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…very nice stirred through some chicken and hot pasta shells, with my favourite addition of a few frozen baby peas, yum

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