Our Favourite Pesto

Pesto is a wonderfully versatile sauce; most commonly associated with pasta dishes, it can also be used to dress grilled meats, salads, roast potatoes and even minestrone soup if you’re in Genoa!

Dating as far back as the Romans, who enjoyed a paste of herbs, cheese, salt and oil with bread,  the archetypal basil pesto we know and love today is thought to have originated in the 19th century in Liguria, Italy. Since then, there have been many variations of this classic green sauce – it’s been done with all sorts of green leaves, cheeses, oils and nuts – but the famous recipe for Genovese pesto remains unchanged:

-       Fresh Basil Leaves

-       Parmesan Cheese

-       Pine Nuts

-       Garlic

-       Salt

-       Olive Oil

What variations of pesto are there?

Well, a simple online search for pesto recipes will generate millions of results. Many will be variations of the above, perhaps some will have more or less oil, some saltier than others, but all roughly following the same ingredient list and method. On the other hand, there are people will experiment with a variety of ingredients. While pine nuts are the traditional choice, delicious pesto can be achieved with walnuts, hazelnuts or almonds, for example. You may want to try flavoured oils to replace the olive oil; chilli or lemon perhaps. But the most adventurous recipes use entirely different herbs and plants to achieve unique and enticing flavours in pesto…

What leaves can I use for pesto? 

Basil is the obvious choice, followed closely by similar herbs that are readily available in the supermarket. Pea, carrot top and tomato leaf are all different but delicious options for your pesto. Spinach makes a brilliantly vibrant green sauce, too! However, we may be biased, but our favourite way to make pesto is with watercress.

What does watercress pesto taste like?

Bright green in colour, watercress pesto is not too dissimilar from the traditional basil recipe, except for the wonderfully peppery flavour. Watercress has a naturally tangy taste thanks to the isothiocyanate compounds found throughout the plant. When chewed, this is what releases that bold, peppery flavour and, in the wild, acts as a defence mechanism to stop animals eating the watercress… but it’s the very reason us humans enjoy consuming it so much!

How do I make watercress pesto?

You can easily make watercress pesto by using your usual recipe and replacing the basil with watercress. While it works perfectly with pine nuts, we also find the pepperiness is complimented well by the subtlety of walnuts and hazelnuts, too.

Here’s our ultimate recipe for watercress pesto:

 80g Watercress

1 Clove Garlic

1tbsp Toasted Pine Nuts

50-75ml Olive Oill

50g Parmesan, Grated

Salt

In a food processor, blitz together the watercress, garlic and nuts. Drizzle with about half of the oil, blend again and repeat with a little more oil at a time until the consistency is runny. Mix the salt and cheese in well & enjoy!  

And if you need some extra inspiration for ways to use watercress pesto, check out some of these ideas!