BBQ PASTA

Grill or stirfry some lean streaky bacon & cook some peas with the pasta.  Cool the pasta & peas, add your home made pesto and serve as a side to your BBQ!

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Traditional Pesto Sauce

Pesto can stand on its own as a sauce, or you can use just a spoonful to add extra flavor to a number of other Italian dishes - especially stews, soups, and sauces.


Ingredients:
2 bunches fresh basil
1/2 bulb garlic
1/2 cup toasted pine nuts
1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
grated parmesan (optional)


Preparation:
1 - Clean and roughly chop the basil. Peel and roughly chop the garlic.
2 - In a food processor,(or by hand, as I do) pulse the basil, garlic, and nuts until well chopped and blended. Pour in the oil and blend until relatively smooth. Do not store - pesto should be made fresh for each use.


Freshness is essential - While dried herbs can be substituted in some recipes, only the freshest herbs will suffice in a pesto. Additionally, fresh herbs are the most aromatic, and a plate of steaming pasta with pesto should fill your house with a savory aroma!


Enjoy this traditional Italian Pesto recipe!

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June Recipe

STRAWBERRY SHORTBREAD'S


Part 1: Shortbread's

Ingredients
125g/4oz butter
55g/2oz caster sugar
180g/6oz plain flour

Heat the oven to 190C/375F/Gas 5.

Beat the butter and the sugar together until pale.

Stir in the flour to get a smooth paste. Turn on to a work surface and gently roll out until the paste is 1cm/½in thick.

Cut into rounds & put on a baking sheet. Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes until pale golden. Cool on a wire rack.

Part 2: Putting them together

Ingredients

200ml creme fraiche

75ml double cream

2-3 tbsp icing sugar, plus extra to dust

8 shortbread's

200g strawberries, hulled and quartered

100g blueberries whole

few mint sprigs, leaves only, roughly shredded, plus a few sprigs to finish

Put the creme fraiche, double cream and 2 tbsp icing sugar into a bowl.  Beat lightly until smooth and just thick, taking care not to over-whisk.  Taste and add a little more icing sugar, if you like.

Place a shortbread on each serving plate.  Spoon a large dollop of the creamy mixture on top.  Scatter the strawberries and mint over the cream.

Dust the remaining shortbread's with icing sugar and rest them on top of the strawberries.  Place a few blueberries around the plate & add a mint sprig to each dessert and serve.

This is a credit to and an adaption of a Gordon Ramsey recipe.