Rocket Pesto - an experiment

by Jack Regnart

So we have a lot of rocket in the garden, we don't really get as much basil. So, I thought I would attempt 'Rocket Pesto'.

We didn't really have a great amount of the necesssary ingredients, so the recipe was taken from a number of sources and there was a bit of experimentation.

The following will only make a small amount of pesto. You can increase the quantities as much as you like. With 4 cloves of garlic it's quite potent, so you may want to think about reducing. (Jamie Oliver for example only uses half a clove)

Ingredients

  • Few handfuls of rocket
  • a handful of basil
  • a handful of parsley
  • 4 cloves of garlic
  • small scotch bonnet (or lesser chilli depending on taste)
  • 750ml olive oil
  • 150g of either very lightly toasted pine nuts, cashews, almonds, hazelnuts (other nut variations may work)
  • (optional) 200g Parmesan / Parmigiano / you could also use a touch of miso
  • 1tsp lemon juice
  • pinch salt

Method

You can do this in a food processor, however that's too easy (and I only have a pestle & mortar).

Roughy chop up the rocket, basil, and parsley.

Crush garlic, rocket, basil, and parsley in a pestle & mortar, add the additional ingredients (except the cheese) and crush while slowly adding a little of the oil.

I prefer quite chunky pesto. However, some people enjoy a smoother paste, you can use a food processor to get it really creamy.

If you're using cheese pour the pesto into a bowl and slowly add cheese and oil until you have the consistency you prefer. If you're not using cheese there's no need to pour it out, simply crush it up until you're happy.

You can of course skip the rocket & parsley for a more traditional pesto taste. The last time I made this pesto it was for a burger filling, it served 5 people and it was polished off.

Photos to follow when I next make it...