Rocket Pesto
Introduction
Add a dollop of rocket pesto to add a peppery bite to burgers, toasties or melts or serve as a dip or a sauce with seafood. Good pine nuts are expensive so I've used half pine nuts and half slivered almonds.
Serves: 4 or more
Ingredients
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
¼ cup pine nuts
¼ cup slivered almonds
Sea salt
80g-100g (2 cups tightly packed) rocket leaves
Flaky sea salt
1 clove garlic, peeled and crushed
⅓ cup grated parmesan
1 Tbsp lemon juice
Method
1 Heat slightly less than 1 tablespoon of the measured oil in a small frying pan (skillet) over medium heat. When oil is hot, add pine nuts and almonds and cook until lightly golden, stirring continuously. Transfer to a plate lined with paper towels using a slotted spoon. Sprinkle pine nuts with sea salt. Cool. Reserve a few of the nuts to use as a garnish (I forgot to do that in the picture!).
2 Put nuts, rocket, a few good pinches of sea salt and garlic in the bowl of a food processor and process to a purée. Add parmesan cheese, process for 20 seconds to combine, then with machine running, pour in the rest of the oil through the feed tube.
3 Transfer rocket pesto to a bowl and add a little lemon juice to sharpen. Cover the surface of the pesto with plastic wrap and refrigerate until required. The pesto will keep for 2-3 days. Serve with toasted bagels. See recipe Toasted Sesame Bagels
Recipe Notes
It’s important to start off with very fresh rocket. If buying rocket in a bag, check the best before date. Rocket pesto has a nice peppery bite which adds flavour to burgers, sandwiches, melts, toasties and the like. It’s also delicious with slow-roast tomatoes, on top of bruschetta or toast, or alongside a traybake of vegetables. You can swirl it through pasta or smear it on top of a pizza. Try a dollop alongside pan-fried fish, baked fish such as salmon or shellfish like scallops or add a spoonful to a vinaigrette and toss with warm steamed potatoes.
