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
Risotto 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). Zest and halve the lemon (see ingredients for amount).
Heat a drizzle of oil in a large, wide-bottomed ovenproof pan on medium heat (if you don't have an ovenproof pan, use a normal saucepan and transfer to an ovenproof dish later). 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 risotto rice and cook until the edges of the rice are 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. Stir well to combine and season with salt and pepper.
Bring back up to the boil, then pop a lid on the dish (or cover with foil) and bake on the middle shelf of your oven until the rice is cooked and the water has been absorbed, 20-25 mins.
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 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 lemon zest, 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. Crumble the goat's cheese over the top of the risotto 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 and toss to coat. Once cooked, remove the risotto from the grill and serve in bowls with a handful of rocket on top. Enjoy!