Watercressto spaghetti
This recipe makes 4 servings of vibrant, zippy, peppery pesto. There’s no reinvention of the wheel here… it’s as herbaceous and punchy as you would expect, and it’s fabulous on pasta!
There are two simple twists: one, we use deliciously peppery watercress in lieu of basil. And two, we’ve subbed in british walnuts in place of pine nuts… we love the faintly bitter backbone they offer this pesto, as well as their rich, oily texture.
Watercress.
Watercress is a powerhouse of nutrition - it’s high in calcium, potassium, iron, antioxidants… the list goes on. Long story short, if any food deserves ‘superfood status’, it’s this.
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 12 minutes
This recipe serves 4 (Any left-over pesto will keep for 5 days in the fridge under a thin layer of olive oil, or up to 6 months in the freezer).
Ingredients:
125 g watercress, stalks and all
60 ml / ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
50 g pecorino or parmesan cheese
30 g / ⅓ cup walnuts, lightly toasted
1 clove garlic, finely minced
1 lemon, juice only
½ tsp flakey sea salt
Spaghetti sufficient for four
To top:extra grating of parmesan
Method:
If you’ve got the oven on toast the walnuts for 6-8 minutes at 160. We love how this intensifies their flavour but it isn’t an essential step if you are in a rush.
Allow the nuts to cool.
Mince the garlic very finely first - this is key.
Transfer everything into a small blender or nutribullet and whizz until smooth.
Spoon this on to hot spaghetti, and mix well to coat things evenly.
Devour from warmed bowls, with a twist of black pepper and an extra drizzle of your best olive oil. Simple!