Pesto Recipe for Kids… And Adults Too!
My pesto recipe for kids is the key to all my rushed dinner wins. I make it most weeks because we all love it. It can be a dressing for salad, for roasted veg, fish and chicken. But in our house, it is usually coating pasta and laden with parmesan!
Ingredients
- 100 g fresh basil
- 40 g cashew nuts Typically people make pesto with pine nuts but I rarely have them in so I use cashew nuts. This is also handy when I am making vegan pesto because I omit the cheese and the cashews offer a creamy texture so it doesn’t feel like it is lacking on mouth feel.
- 50 g fresh parmesan Chopped into chunks. If you are making a vegan pesto just skip the cheese
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 4 tbsp Extra virgin olive oil I use around 4 tbsp but the consistency of your pesto will be personal so feel free to make it your own
Instructions
Pesto in the food processor
- Blitz two cloves of garlic and lemon juice to a fine chop. In its raw form garlic can be quite pungent and overpower a dish. Adding a drop of lemon at the start helps to mellow the garlic flavour which helps you to balance your pesto.
- With the food processor still running add the cashew nuts, then the parmesan chunks and leave it for about 30 seconds. Chopping the parmesan into chunks helps ensure both the cheese and the nuts blitz evenly.
- Add all the basil in one go. I twist the leaves off the stems and take the lid off the food processor to add the whole 100g in one go.
- Blitz the mix for 10-20 seconds.
- Remove the lid, add olive oil and mix through with a spoon until you reach your desired consistency. Do not blitz once the olive oil is in, this changes the whole texture. Scoop the pesto into a jar or tub and set aside to cook later.
BONUS! Pesto salad dressing
- With the last bits of pesto in the bowl, I like to make a quick salad dressing. Add 2 tablespoons of lemon juice, a good glug of olive oil and pepper to taste. I don’t add salt because I am cooking for young children but you can if it suits you! Mix with the pesto that’s stuck to the sides of the bowl and set aside to dress your salad later!
Pesto in the pestle and mortar
- Add two garlic cloves and pound them to a paste. Halfway through add the lemon juice and continue.
- Add your cashew nuts and pound them until you make a thick paste.
- Add your basil in stages and pound the leaves into the mix. You want to incorporate the basil leaves you have added before you add more.
- Once you have added all the basil and you are happy with the texture grate the parmesan into the mix and pound until fully incorporated.
- Add your olive oil and stir it through. You can make the mix as thick or thin as you like. It really depends what you are using it for. Remember you can always add more olive oil when you come to use the pesto.
- When you are cooking your pesto with a pasta you only want to warm it slightly in a pan, the hot pasta will continue to cook the pesto and you don’t want to over cook those delicate flavours.
Notes
Feeding children can sometimes be a struggle… it’s easy to get bogged down with mid-week meals, maybe your kids are going through a fussy stage or you are beating yourself up because you are having pasta again! I think it’s important to do what works. My whole family love this recipe. It’s helped me get out of some tight spots, allowed me to jazz up an otherwise boring chicken with a dollop of this good stuff and it brings a smile to everyone’s face – I think this pesto recipe is a winner for everyone from your kids to your Nan; on the table and in your lunchbox… Pesto for the win!