Spinach & Rocket Pesto

Yesterday, I made this tasty & easy to make spinach & rocket pesto. I added toasted walnuts & added the Parmesan cheese later, on the plate. My husband & I don’t like the same amount of cheese in our pesto’s so that’s why I added it later, on my plate.

I added cooked egg-free farfalle pasta because I wanted to use this fun pasta shape. I also added fried smoked bacon pieces because I do think that the flavours marry well together. If you leave out the bacon, this is a vegetarian dish. Enjoy it! :) If you have any leftovers, this is also tasty with some mashed potato served with fried sausages or with vegetarian sausages!

Recipe: For 2 persons, with a bit of seconds
Ingredients:

** For the pesto:

100 gr of young spinach leaves, well washed & spun dry, big stalks removed

100 gr of rocket leaves ( arugula ), well washed & spun dry

2 fat cloves of garlic, peeled & finely chopped up

zest & juice of 1/2 lemon

4 to 6 tablespoons of a fruity extra virgin olive oil

I used 6 black pepper sea salt flakes/

I used Maldon sea salt

30 gr of walnuts, toasted for about 5 minutes in a hot non-stick pan, on a low heat./ Do not let the walnuts burn!

a fruity evoo

** To serve:

About 350 gr of farfalle pasta

200 gr smoked bacon pieces, unfried/ I only used 200 gr fried smoked bacon pieces for 2 persons, so that the smoked bacon won’t overpower the pesto flavours!!!

baking margarine to fry your smoked bacon pieces in

finely grated Parmesan cheese, about 100 gr/ you can leave this out if you want to make it vegan! :)

Cook your pasta according to your packet instructions. Drain & keep warm. Make your pesto. Take a food processor & add rocket leaves, spinach leaves, toasted walnuts, chopped up garlic, 1/2 lemon zest & juice of 1/2 lemon. Add some finely milled black pepper & some sea salt flakes. Now, add 1 tablespoon of the oil at a time. Blitz everything together for a few seconds or until it forms a greenish paste. Add 1 tablespoon of the oil extra, if you need to. Add more oil if you need to. You want to end up with a greenish pesto consistency, not too thick & not too runny.Stop. Scrape the sides of your processor & blitz again & again. Taste. It has to taste fab & adjust the seasoning if you need to. You can taste the lemon. Yummy!

In the meantime, fry your smoked bacon pieces in some baking margarine until crispy & ready. Keep warm. Now, you are ready to plate up. Take 2 pasta plates & add the cooked farfalle in the middle. Add 2 or 3 tablespoons of the green pesto on top of your cooked pasta. Scatter the smoked bacon pieces all around your pasta plate, in a circle. Add some grated Parmesan cheese on top of the pesto. The Parmesan cheese enriches the flavour of the lemon. Do the same with your second pasta plate. Enjoy instantly with your loved one! Success guaranteed! :)

This is so tasty, everything mingled together on your plate. It doesn’t look great but it is so divine! :) Happy Eating!

You can find this tasty recipe here on my blog: http://sophiesfoodiefiles.wordpress.com/2014/04/04/spinach-rocket-pesto/