Rocket Pesto

I’ve been making rocket pesto for years, ever since I discovered it in the Waitrose magazine in 2011, and it’s become a staple in our household – we have it at least once a month but more in the summer months. It is a great dish because it’s simple and works hot or cold however it doesn’t really like being heated up the next day so leftovers are best eaten cold or the pesto kept separate and mixed with freshly cooked pasta.

I’ve played with the ingredients a bit over the years (mainly when I am unable to procure the right ingredients) – I’ve found watercress and spinach don’t really work as well as rocket however the addition of things like spring onions and chilli or using lime instead of lemon can be a nice change. Depending on the season I sometimes swap out some, or all, of the peas for asparagus. My partner loves recipes to be sharp so I use a lot of lemons and over the years I’ve increased the amount of lemons from the original recipe by quite a bit. You can always use slightly less than I have suggested and add more lemon juice when you have tasted it. I normally don’t measure this anymore and just go roughly on a bag of rocket to a lemon and keep adding oil till it looks about right, it’s a good recipe to play with and make it work for your own personal preference.

Making the Pesto

1. Zest and juice the lemon directly into the food processor (by doing this first you can pick out any pips easily if they sneak through).
2. Grate the cheese into the food processor.
3. Chop the spring onions roughly and add them into the food processor.
4. Add half the rocket and then add roughly a third of the oil, drizzling it all over the rocket (all around the food processor).
5. Put the lid on and blitz the ingredients together, add a bit more oil while it’s spinning if you can (my food processor has an opening in the lid). This helps mix the rocket and push it down to the blades.
6. Stop and add the rest of the rocket and most of the oil, saving some oil to add like above while it’s spinning (if you can’t add while spinning then add all the rest of the oil here). Add pepper and salt (I add a good amount of pepper and not much salt but that’s up to you).
7. Blitz it all together, adding the last of the oil while it’s spinning.

Making the pasta / finishing the dish

1. Add your choice of pasta to a pan of water and bring to the boil then reduce to a simmer and cook for approx. 10 mins (check packet for different pasta instructions).
2. Three minutes before the end of the pasta cooking time, add the frozen peas.
3. While the pasta is cooking prepare the cherry tomatoes, chop them into quarters, and season with pepper and salt.
4. Drain the pasta/peas, don’t worry if it isn’t 100% drained and there is a drop of pasta water left (I often drain with a slotted spoon but a colander works too).
5. Add the pesto and tomatoes to the pasta and peas and mix together quickly and serve.