Parsley & Manchego Pesto

Pesto is the besto! I live by these wise words.

The beauty of pesto is that it's limitless. The aim is to have a paste, made up predominantly of fats, which can be emulsified with pasta water; from there the pesto world is your oyster.

I tend to make pesto with whatever I have lying around, following this general skeleton:

- herbs

- Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)

- nuts/animal fat such as nduja

- a bit of acid

- cheese/charcuterie (for fat and salt)

- other flavour components (usually including garlic)

Today this led to the recipe below:

Ingredients:

• 1 bunch of parsley

• 20g manchego

• 2 Tbsp EVOO

• 1/2 lemon zest & juice

• 1 garlic clove

• 1 handful of mixed nuts (almonds & hazelnuts)

• 1 pinch salt & pepper

• 1 Tbsp water

• (1 optional mozzarella - whey can be used in the pesto)

Method:

1. Toast the nuts in a dry pan until they are slightly browned, or warm them in a microwave for 30sec if you are feeling particularly lazy like me

2. Put all the ingredients (except the water and mozzarella) in a blender and mix until it becomes a paste

3. Add the water + whey and blend again

4. Taste and adjust the seasoning if needed

5. Mix into cooked pasta of choice with pasta water and serve topped with mozzarella and EVOO

Feel free to check out my instagram or tiktok for the full video of the recipe.