Editor's note: And now for something completely different in the middle of the darker months! Pesto is not just for the summertime, it's a wonderful flavour that should be enjoyed all year round. Good pesto doesn't cost the earth but why wouldn't you want to give such a straight-forward recipe a whirl? Absolutely essential to serve with the drinks!
Crostini spreads – to buy ready-made or not to …
...that is the question!
Do whatever suits you – there are some great quality tapenade and pesto products out there. If you're going to use ready-made buy as good a quality as you can afford.
Here are recipes for both :
Tapenade
100g black olives, pitted
4/5 cloves of garlic (or equivalent tsps of paste)
1 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil
black pepper
lemon juice – try a dessert spoon – you can always add more
4 finely chopped anchovies, drained
75g chopped capers
Blitz the olives, then add the garlic, capers and anchovies and blitz again, briefly – you want a rustic paste, not mush. Tip into a bowl and add the oil, lemon juice and black pepper to taste – remember to taste as you go you can't take it back!
Pesto is vibrantly green! It's made from crushed basil leaves, toasted pine nuts, garlic, Parmesan and olive oil.
The following recipe serves 4, is easy and takes 10 minutes to make.
1 small garlic clove or equivalent roasted
pinch of sea salt
25g pine nuts, lightly toasted
50g fresh basil leaves
juice of half a lemon
125ml extra virgin olive oil
Parmesan to taste
Use a small food processor. Put the garlic and salt in the bowl and pulse, then add the pine nuts and repeat until roughly chopped – don't overwork. Add the basil and pulse gently until well mixed but still retains texture. Turn into a serving bowl and add the Parmesan and lemon juice. Pour in the olive oil and mix to a paste. Season to taste.
You could make the pesto ahead and transfer to a jar with a tight lid (sterilised of course) – drizzle a layer of olive oil over the top of the pesto. It will keep in the fridge for up to a week.
If I had to choose one to make from scratch it would be tapenade every time – it really is scrumptious.
Tomato paste is a bit strong for my taste - if it's not cooked it has a bitter taste but preparing some of each will cater for everyone. A tip – a thin scrape of paste is all that's required!
One might say the Crostini is fiddly, but, almost all of it can be done in advance and you can take short cuts for example, you can buy sliced pitted olives, ready to blitz after draining.
Coming up – the risotto “spin-off” dishes
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