Basil & walnut pesto

Method

(If you’re making this to add to the super green lasagne, you will need about half this recipe. You can freeze the rest for later.)  

Remove the thicker stems from the basil and parsley. Using a food processor, blitz the herbs until finely chopped (stop before it turns into a paste). 

Remove the herbs, and then do the same with the Omega Walnuts and the Romano from Borrello Cheese. Blend until they turn into a fine crumb, stopping before they become paste-like. 

Add the herbs to the nut mix and give everything a quick blitz to mix. While the food processor is running, slowly drizzle in the oil until the pesto comes together in a thick blend. It should be thick enough that you could pick it out the blender by hand, and it will roughly hold its shape. 

Squeeze over the juice of half a lemon, and add a good pinch of salt and pepper. Mix for a few seconds. 

If you know you are going to be freezing this batch of pesto, remove it onto a large piece of baking paper. As it’s quite thick, you can roll it up into a long sausage shape in the paper, tying each end together. This makes it perfect for freezing.

Cool it long enough that it starts to solidify, then remove quickly from the freezer, chop into portions, and then retie and return to the freezer. That way it’s ready to remove in small portions as needed.  (See handy tip below.)

If you’re going to use the pesto for something requiring a runnier consistency (such as pasta sauce or to add to the super green lasagne), then leave it in the processor and continue to add olive oil until you reach the desired consistency. This method is perfect for jars kept in the fridge. 

Before using (or freezing), taste the pesto and balance with salt or more lemon juice as required.