Lovely Moms Café

I always make sure that I have some ready made Basil Pesto in the fridge.  This is very helpful when I have a very busy day that all I want to do in the afternoon is to prepare an easy and quick dinner before hubby comes home.

The tip is to prepare a container of basil pesto (which you can also replace with baby spinach) and keep it in a fridge.  It can last for a week or two.  This is because of the olive oil in it, the puree stays beautifully preserved.  And the more that the flavour of all the ingredients are enhanced and they compliment each other.

To prepare the Pesto puree:  Put in the blender the following:  Basil leaves (a bunch; remove the leaves from stems!), garlic cloves (one or two or more as you wish), pine nuts (toasted or not), some grated parmesan cheese (lots if you want) and olive oil.  The measurement of all the ingredients will depend on how much flavour you like.  Adjust the ingredients according to your taste.  Blend everything into puree/ paste or you can use food processor.

Boil the pasta in salted water.  You can choose whichever kind of pasta you want.  My favourites are spaghetti, fettuccine, linguine and fusilli.

When the pasta is cooked, drain it.  Add the pesto, thick cream (or all-purpose cream).   Mix well.

Whenever we have Pesto for dinner, I always accompany it with mixed vegetable salad with balsamic vinegar and olive oil as dressing.  I also prepare my favourite bruschetta. 

How to prepare bruschetta:  Dice tomatoes, add chopped basil, minced garlic, season with salt and drizzled with olive oil.  Top the mixture on a toasted bread.

That’s it!  That could be your dinner for tonight.  Bon apetit!

Note:  You can save some of those pesto puree and use it as marinade for your favourite chicken or steak.  Marinade it overnight and grill or even pan fry.  I have also tried it on prawns.  Delish!!