Pesto is a great way to add plenty of flavour and healthy fats to a dish. In this recipe, you'll be making your own pesto with walnuts, basil, rocket, hard Italian cheese and olive oil. You'll see how quick and easy pesto is to make, so if you are looking for more tasty pesto inspiration have a look at the HelloFresh blog!
The quantities provided above are averages only.
Boxes and ingredients are packed in facilities that handles Peanut, Nuts, Sesame, Fish, Crustaceans, Milk, Egg, Mustard, Celery, Soya, Gluten and Sulphites. Due to the war in Ukraine, it has been necessary to substitute sunflower oil with rapeseed oil in some products without a label change. The FSA have advised that allergic reactions to rapeseed oil are rare.
1
Onion
1
Courgette
(May contain Celery)
1
Garlic Clove
½
Lemon
175
Arborio Rice
15
Cider Vinegar
(Contains Sulphites)
15
Vegetable Stock Paste
(Contains Celery)
20
Walnuts
(Contains Nuts May contain Peanut, Sesame, Nuts)
40
Wild Rocket
40
Grated Hard Italian Style Cheese
(Contains Milk, Egg)
125
Goat's Cheese
2
Olive Oil
450
Water for the Rice
Preheat your oven to 200°C. Fill and boil your kettle. Halve, peel and chop the onion into small pieces. Trim the courgette then halve lengthways. Slice widthways roughly 1cm thick. Peel and grate the garlic (or use a garlic press). Cut the lemon in half.
Heat a drizzle of oil in a large ovenproof saucepan on medium heat. TIP: If your pan isn't ovenproof, cook as usual and transfer to an ovenproof dish before you put it in the oven. Add the onion to the pan and cook until soft, 4-5 mins. Add the garlic and cook for 1 min, then stir in the rice and cook until slightly translucent, 1 min. Add the cider vinegar and allow it to evaporate before adding the boiled water (see ingredients for amount) and veg stock paste. Season with salt and pepper.
Stir and bring to the boil. Cover the pan with a lid (or seal it with foil). Pop onto the middle shelf of your oven and bake until the rice is tender, 20-25 mins. TIP: If your pan isn't ovenproof, just pour the mixture into an ovenproof dish, cover tightly with foil instead (before baking in your oven).
While your risotto bakes, roughly chop the walnuts and finely chop a quarter of the rocket. Pop the walnuts, rocket and hard Italian style cheese into a bowl with the olive oil (see ingredients for amount). Grind in some pepper, mix it together and leave it to one side. Meanwhile, heat a large frying pan on medium-high heat (no oil). When hot, add the courgette and cook until nicely charred, 5-7 mins. Turn only every couple of minutes - this will result in the courgette picking up some nice colour. Once cooked, season with salt and pepper, then transfer to a bowl.
Once your risotto is ready, remove it from your oven. Preheat your grill to high. Stir your courgette and rocket pesto into your risotto (add a splash of water if it's a bit thick). Season to taste with salt and pepper if needed. Put your goat's cheese on top and pop it under your grill until the cheese has browned, 4-5 mins.
While your risotto is grilling, pour a drizzle of olive oil into a medium bowl. Add a squeeze of lemon juice and season with salt and pepper. Mix together, then add the remaining rocket, toss to coat. Once cooked, remove the risotto from the grill and serve in bowls with a handful of rocket on top. Enjoy!