spaghetti w' mint pesto - my lovely little lunch box

Usually I am more than happy to use shop bought pesto.

It’s wonderfully fragrant and delicious and has adorned many of Miss G’s. suppers since we began our baby led weaning journey.

But with a couple of fresh bunches of mint perched on the kitchen bench this morning I decided to whip up a batch of the homemade variety instead.

And with the use of a food processor it couldn’t be more simpler.

Just pop all of the ingredients in the processor, blitz, pour over cooked spaghetti and dinner is done.

Miss G. gobbled up her spaghetti smothered in minty pesto for lunch today and as you can imagine by the end of lunch she was also smothered head to toe in the gorgeously fresh and fragrant mint pesto.

To create your own mint pesto spaghetti simply…

Begin by bringing a large pot of salted water to the boil. Add the spaghetti and cook according to packet instructions. Drain and set aside.

Whilst the spaghetti is bubbling away place the almonds on an oven tray and pop into a preheated 180 degree celsius (350 F) oven to roast for 5 minutes or until golden and toasted. Remove and set aside.

In the bowl of a food processor place the mint, roasted almonds, parmesan, garlic and pulse until roughly chopped. Add the olive oil and pulse until just combined.

Place the cooked spaghetti into a large bowl, add a couple of heaped tablespoons of the minty pesto and toss to combine.

Serve with an extra drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, a good grating of parmesan and a few extra mint leaves.

spaghetti w’ mint pesto

adapted from Donna Hay

INGREDIENTS

250 grams spaghetti

1/3 cup almonds

2 cups mint

1 garlic clove

1/3 cup parmesan, grated

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

to serve, extra grated parmesan and mint leaves

METHOD

Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius (350 F).

Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil, add spaghetti and cook according to packet instructions. Drain and set aside.

Place almonds on an oven tray and pop into the oven to roast for 5 minutes or until golden and toasted. Allow to cool slightly.

In the bowl of a food processor place the roasted almonds, mint, garlic, parmesan and pulse until roughly chopped. Add the olive oil and pulse to combine.

In a large bowl place the spaghetti along with a couple of heaped tablespoons of the pesto and toss to combine.

Serve with an extra drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, a good grating of parmesan and a few extra mint leaves.

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