Vegan Watercress, Rocket, Spinach & Almond Pesto

As you may have already seen I'm hosting Pasta Please this month for Jac at Tinned Tomatoes. It was down to me to pick the theme and I went for homemade pesto as this is something I've been meaning to try for a while and because I wanted to see how creative people could get with the idea. So far I've seen lots of great entries and I hope there will be more to come by the end of the month. For my pesto I went for a vegan version as my boyfriend doesn't eat cheese. I was so impressed with how this turned out (especially the vibrant green colour) that I don't think I'm going to buy jars of pesto again. I also didn't really miss the cheese in it. Although the pesto is vegan this doesn't mean you can't serve it with meat or fish if you want to which is what I did here.

I consulted the Flavour Thesaurus (a great book for working out flavour combinations) to decide which nuts to use and I chose almonds because they go with well with oily fish and I had some trout fillets in the freezer that I wanted to use. I made a big batch which was enough for 6 portions. On the first day I served it with cooked flaked rainbow trout and pasta, the next day we had it with pasta again, smoky bacon and peppers and tonight I used it to top a jacket sweet potato for myself. I'll be using the last portion stirred through pasta for my lunchbox tomorrow. At a cost of £2.50 for a bag of watercress, rocket and spinach leaves and a packet of blanched almonds to make 6 portions (assuming you already have olive oil and garlic in the cupboard) this is an affordable way of perking up your pasta.

Pesto with flaked rainbow trout

Ingredients - serves 6

120g bag of watercress, rocket and spinach leaves, washed and dried
100g blanched almonds
2 fat cloves of garlic, finely chopped
120ml extra virgin olive oil
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

In a food processor or blender add the leaves, garlic and almonds and process on high power. With the motor running slowly pour in the olive oil. Stop to scrape down the sides with a spatula and add salt and pepper to taste then pulse to combine. Transfer to a bowl and either serve straight away with pasta or cover with a thin layer of oil and keep covered with clingfilm in the fridge and use within 4 or 5 days.

Leftover pesto served with a jacket sweet potato

I'm entering this into Pasta Please, Credit Crunch Munch run by Camilla and Helen (this month's host), Made With Love Mondays, Simple and in Season this month hosted by Louisa at Chez Foti, Herbs on Saturday this month hosted by London Busy Body