What we're aiming for:
Enough mint pesto to make 2 helpings of a sharing bowl of ham and pea pasta (plus leftovers)
Enough mint pesto to make 2 helpings of a sharing bowl of ham and pea pasta (plus leftovers)
The Components: The pesto
- 50g feta cheese - sliced into teeny tiny cubes
- A handful of pistachios - de-shelled
- A bunch of fresh mint leaves, roughly chopped - stalks discarded
- 1 garlic clove - peeled
- Extra Virgin olive oil
- A little bit of regular olive oil for cooking
- A couple pinches of sea salt and a pinch of black pepper
The Algorithm: The pesto
(10 minutes)
- Heat a small amount of olive oil in a pan and add the thinly sliced garlic clove to the oil
- Let cook for 30sec to 1min, just until it's sizzling a bit and starting to appear more translucent, we just want it to start smelling delicious
- Take off the heat and set aside
- Pound your pistachios with pestle and mortar until they are broken down into small chunks, but not too crumbly
- Now add the chopped mint leaves, pistachios and your slightly cooked garlic to a food processor and pulse until everything is completely mixed and the leaves have all been broken
- Scrape the mixture out into a small bowl, and add the feta cheese cubes, keeping some aside for garnish later
- Add a few glugs of extra virgin olive oil, some sprinkles of salt and stir it all up to make a nice oily paste
- Your pesto is now ready as a sauce to add to any pasta, salad, pizza, sandwich, whatever. Here we'll tell you our favourite pasta recipe that we use with this mint pesto recipe as a fusion of traditional ham and pea dishes with the delicious combo of mint and pea!
- Let cook for 30sec to 1min, just until it's sizzling a bit and starting to appear more translucent, we just want it to start smelling delicious
- Take off the heat and set aside
- Pound your pistachios with pestle and mortar until they are broken down into small chunks, but not too crumbly
- Now add the chopped mint leaves, pistachios and your slightly cooked garlic to a food processor and pulse until everything is completely mixed and the leaves have all been broken
- Scrape the mixture out into a small bowl, and add the feta cheese cubes, keeping some aside for garnish later
- Add a few glugs of extra virgin olive oil, some sprinkles of salt and stir it all up to make a nice oily paste
- Your pesto is now ready as a sauce to add to any pasta, salad, pizza, sandwich, whatever. Here we'll tell you our favourite pasta recipe that we use with this mint pesto recipe as a fusion of traditional ham and pea dishes with the delicious combo of mint and pea!
The Components: The pasta
- Enough pasta for each person dining - use your favourite shape for pesto like rigatoni or trofie twists
- 1/2 cup of peas (we like frozen if we can't find fresh petit pois) - this is enough for 2 people so add more if you need to
- 50g of jamón (or regular ham or bacon) - chopped into chunks
- Sea salt and pepper to taste
The Algorithm: The pasta
(10-15 minutes)
- Cook your pasta as you normally would in nice, salty water - just a couple minutes before the pasta is finished cooking, add the frozen peas to the boiling water
- A couple minutes later, when the pasta and peas are done, drain and tip back into the saucepan
- In the meantime, using the pan in which you cooked the garlic, add a little bit more oil and cook the pieces of ham to your liking - sometimes we like it to be just slightly cooked (just heated through) and other times we like to cook it longer so it's crispy like bacon
- Add a scoop of pesto to the cooked pasta and peas, with a sprinkle of sea salt and pepper, and mix thoroughly Have a taste of the pasta, if you'd like it to be more strongly pesto-flavoured, then add another scoop or two until it's to your liking
- Stir in the cooked jamón or ham
- Pour the entire contents of the pan into a nice serving bowl, top with the remaining feta cheese cubes and bring to the table to serve!
- A couple minutes later, when the pasta and peas are done, drain and tip back into the saucepan
- In the meantime, using the pan in which you cooked the garlic, add a little bit more oil and cook the pieces of ham to your liking - sometimes we like it to be just slightly cooked (just heated through) and other times we like to cook it longer so it's crispy like bacon
- Add a scoop of pesto to the cooked pasta and peas, with a sprinkle of sea salt and pepper, and mix thoroughly Have a taste of the pasta, if you'd like it to be more strongly pesto-flavoured, then add another scoop or two until it's to your liking
- Stir in the cooked jamón or ham
- Pour the entire contents of the pan into a nice serving bowl, top with the remaining feta cheese cubes and bring to the table to serve!
