Pesto Perfection!

I love pesto (who doesn't?), using heavy peppery and vibrant green basil leaves, it takes minutes to make, keeps well in the fridge and transforms any dish you add it to into an emerald delight!

At home we never bought pesto, my mum would make big batches of it and store it in jars, using it almost daily after that and adding it to everything! My mum would stick to the traditional Ligurian recipe of pesto: basil leaves, garlic cloves, Parmigiano-Reggiano, olive oil and pine nuts.

My own recipe may not follow that of Ligurians, but I think it is just as tasty! As I don't eat cheese I leave it out, but what I think totally makes up for that is along with the basil, garlic, pine nuts and olive oil, I add more leaves (rocket works amazingly well, as does spinach) and sunflower seeds. They add a creaminess to the pesto as well as making it more nutritious. Give it a go! I promise you'll love it!

Of course what is the best way of eating pesto (other than with a chunk of crispy bread)? Pasta!
Sometimes I just have it by itself coated around long strands of fettucce or linguine, but it's also really nice to dry-fry in a pan green beans and/or courgette and mix it into the gleaming green pasta and sauce.

Buon appetito!

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