Last year I planted a whole lot of rocket. In the warmer months, it went to seed and when I finally got around to it, I whipped the plants out and composted them. This year I planted more, unawares that below the soil lurked a hidden stockpile! The rocket self-seeded and has sprout all over my garden. We used a bit in salads and yummy quesadillas but it didn't make much of a dent to the crop. I was keen to make more use of it so I began searching for a recipe for rocket pesto. I followed the recipe initially but finding it had more bite to it then I intended, as my rocket was quite old (and peppery), I modified it.
Here is my tasty recipe for rocket pesto. It's particularly good for old, peppery rocket.
Ingredients
1 cup rocket
3/4 cup pine nuts
1/2 cup parsley
as much oil as you like - I use only enough to make it spreadable but others like it a bit oilier
Method
Blend!
Yum yum! I use a teeny tiny bit on ham or salami for a tasty sandwhich. You could also use it as a pizza base.
My mum disappered on a day trip last weekend to Creswick, a small town a bit over 100 kilometres north of Melbourne. There a friend of hers took her mushroom picking, armed with a knowledge of what was good and what was bad from a mushroom picking course she had taken. Mum returned with a basketful of pine mushrooms, some of which she kindly donated to us.
Late one evening, after an exhausting day, we decided to try out the pine mushrooms and a simple spagetti dish. We melted a huge chunk of butter, added a small packet of bacon, about 6 or 7 pine mushrooms (sliced) and, when the pasta was cooked, stirred it through with some of the leftover pasta water, parmesan cheese and fresh parsley from the garden. Delicious!
