Broad Bean Pesto Pasta with Spring Vegetables

Springtime to me speaks fresh crunchy spring vegetables and fresh vibrant green home made pesto. I've tried to make this pesto a little healthier by using less oil and substituting a bit of vodka and a bit of vegetable stock. It's delicious, but a little dryer than if you'd chucked in a cup of olive oil. If you're not too fussed about  superoily pestos, then by all means increase the oil. This would be a great opportunity to use some of your basil pineapple infused vodka, which I did, to give it an even more basil-y kick. 

Ingredients

Pesto
1 cup broad beans, boiled or steamed
1 cup basil leaves, torn
1 clove garlic, peeled
1/2 cup blanched almonds
2 tbsp olive oil
Juice of 1 lemon
1 measure of vodka (30ml)
1/3 cup vegetable stock
1 tbsp soy sauce

Pasta
400g spiral pasta
2 handfuls green beans, ends trimmed and cut in half
10 asparagus spears, woody ends removed and cut in half
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp capers

To Make
1. If you haven't already cooked the broad beans, do it now. Peel the skins off them and discard (to do this, make a small slit in the skin with a sharp knife and then squeeze gently until the bean inside pops out).
2. Combine all the pesto ingredients in a food processor and process until smooth.
3. Cook the pasta for a couple of minutes less than in says on the packet (the instructions almost always tell you to cook it for too long). Check to make sure it is just perfectly cooked but with a little bit of bite to it. In the last minute of cooking the pasta add the green beans.
4. Turn off the heat and add the asparagus spears. Cover and leave for about 30 seconds.
5. Strain the pasta and return to the pan. Stir through the olive oil.
6. Add the pesto and capers and stir through. Return to the stove over a low heat and heat gently until it is hot enough to serve. You can season to taste with salt and pepper (although the soy sauce already provides some salt, so go easy).

Serves 4

Love home made pesto? Check out my Homemade Rocket Pesto.

Easy Basil Vodka Pasta

Back in March of this year I made my own pineapple and basil vodka. It was pretty unique and delicious, but admittedly it was very, very basil-y. The pineapple taste was somewhat overpowered by the basil, making it a sort of savoury vodka rather than a sweet one. Because of this I tend to refer to it as being simply Basil Vodka, because that is pretty much what it is. Since then I have drunk some on a few occasions, it's very nice with some soda water and a generous squeeze of lemon. However, you have to be in the right mood for a tall glass of basil flavoured soda water, so more than half of the bottle is still sitting in my fridge.

I figured I would have to come up with some new ways to use it, and I decided that since it was pretty savoury I would use it in my savoury cooking. However, if you don't want to make a whole batch of basil vodka (although, once you realise how good it tastes in pasta sauce then you might!) you can make a quick substitute. Just take the 1/4 cup vodka needed for this recipe and put it in a glass jar with a lid. Finely chop some fresh basil leaves (I'd say at least 7-8) and put it in the jar with the vodka. Put the lid on and shake well. Leave for a minimum of 2 hours, overnight would be best. Shake it up whenever you remember. Then just add both the vodka and the basil to the recipe at step 3.

Ingredients

400g pasta, I used fusili

1 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

6-8 mushrooms, washed and chopped

1/4 cup basil vodka

1 tin diced tomatoes, including the juice

1 tbsp chopped fresh oregano

1 tbsp chopped fresh basil

1 tbsp tomato paste

2 tbsp soy sauce

To Make
1. Heat the olive oil in a saucepan and sauté the onion and garlic until the onion is transparent and softened.
2. Add  the mushrooms and sauté until they have cooked down and released their lovely mushroom-y juices.
3. Add the vodka, tomatoes, herbs, tomato paste and soy sauce and simmer briefly. All you really want to do it cook the herbs sightly, so only 1-2 minutes.
4. Bring a large pot of water to the boil and cook the pasta for a minute less than it tells you to on the back of the packet (pasta never needs to be cooked for as long as the packet says!).
5. Drain the pasta and stir through the sauce. Add cracked black pepper to taste (but you will not need salt because you have added soy sauce instead!).
6. Serve immediately.

Serves 4.

Pineapple & Basil Vodka

Pineapple and basil infused vodka? Possibly one of the best ideas ever? This amazing concoction was inspired by a recipe in Matthew Teacher's great little book The Home Distiller's Handbook for Pineapple and Basil Cordial. My version is a bit stronger on the vodka :) The basil in this one came fresh from my beautiful garden where the basil is growing like crazy because all of the rain we have been having. Overall the basil flavour in this infusion is stronger than the pineapple, however, although the pineapple flavour is subtle it serves a great purpose to provide a sweeter undertone to the strength of the basil.

Infusing my own spirits is something I plan to get into a lot more and the success of my first try has only inspired me even more! This infusion makes a wonderfully fresh tasting vodka which needs nothing more than some soda water and a squeeze of lemon to drink with!

Ingredients
750ml vodka
1 small pineapple, peeled and chopped
1 bunch basil, washed

.....that's it!

To Make
1. In a large jar with a sealable lid (with a wide top so that you can get the stuff back out again!) place the sliced pineapple and the bunch of basil (tear up the basil leaves slightly so that the flavour infuses easier).
2. Pour the vodka into the jar and shake slightly. Tip: poke the basil leaves under the vodka so that they don't dry out or become too brown.
3. Seal the lid on the jar and set aside in a dark cupboard to infuse for 1-3 weeks (the longer you leave it the stronger the basil flavour), getting it out occasionally to shake it (but ensure that the fresh ingredients are covered by the vodka before putting back in the cupboard) and taste it to see if it is infused to your taste yet.
4. When you get it to the strength you like strain the whole jar through a strainer lined with muslin or cheesecloth. Put the soaked pineapple pieces into the muslin and squeeze to get as much of the pineapple-y-ness out of it as possible. Discard the basil and pineapple and put the vodka into a bottle.

Serve with lemonade, soda water (with a squeeze of lemon juice), pineapple juice or just on ice with water and a slice of lemon (simple - but actually very delicious).

Split Pea and Basil Stew

Sometimes I find the best recipes are created when you have something that you need to use up. My vegie garden is growing so beautifully right now and I am a tiny bit super proud of it. It's sort of like my child (except less high maintenance), every time somebody comes over to my house I invariable drag them outside to proudly show them my vegie garden and point out all the changes since last time I dragged them out to see it. My friends are probably sick of this but they will probably have to get over it. I imagine it is similar to if  they went over to somebody's house who had just had a baby - out come the baby photos (despite the fact that the baby is right there for you to look at) so that they can tell you all the tiny ways that the baby has changed over the last month which are all things that probably only they care about. Well, I'm like that with my vegie garden. It's like my child essentially. This is my other child, by the way, and I can tell you that she is definitely much cuter than my vegie-garden-child:

Uli Von Tuftsberg

However, what happens with a vegie garden (as I'm sure any vegie growers know) is that suddenly you get an influx of something which needs to be used up all at once before the plant goes to seed. So, this week the basil in my garden was rather thriving and I knew I needed to use up a fair bit of it to stop the plants going to seed. I was making lunch and what I really felt like was split pea soup/stew. So - the result was obviously Split Pea and Basil Stew! This is probably something I never would have tried if I hadn't had to use up the basil, which would have been a great loss because it was absolutely delicious (seconded by the two guests I had over for lunch that day). So the moral of the story is. Something.

Just to prove what a proud parent I am here is a picture of my basil (isn't it adorable??):

Split Pea and Basil Stew

Ingredients:

1 tbsp nuttelex (or other vegan margarine)

1 leek, washed and thinly sliced

3 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped

1 tsp fennel seeds

1/2 tsp caraway seeds

1.5L vegetable stock

1 1/2 cups green split peas

1 potato, peeled and diced

1 carrot, chopped

1 small sweet potato, peeled and diced

5 tomatoes, finely chopped

2 tbsp soy sauce

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/2 cup fresh or frozen green peas

Cracked pepper to taste

1 bunch fresh basil

To Make:

1. Melt nuttelex in a large soup pot. Add the leek and garlic and sauté until softened. Add fennel seeds and caraway seeds and sauté for a further 5 minutes.

2. Add the split peas, stock, potato, carrot, sweet potato, tomatoes, soy sauce and cumin and bring to the boil.

3. Reduce to a simmer and and cover. Simmer for 30-40 minutes or until the peas have gone nice and mushy.

4. Grind the basil to a paste in a mortar and pestle (leaving a small handful out to chop and use as garnish) or alternately use a food processor.

5. Add the basil paste and peas to the stew and simmer, uncovered for 5-10 minutes. Season to taste with cracked pepper.

6. Serve topped with shredded fresh basil.

Serves 4.

Fresh Vegan Basil Spaghetti with Roasted Tomato Garlic Sauce

Ok - so I know most people think that making your own spaghetti is just too hard, and truthfully I used to be one of them. But I recently discovered the other day that it is ridiculously easy! Home made fresh pasta has such a great delicate flavour and means that you can get creative with the pasta. Once you can make your own gourmet pastas you can make the pasta the star of the dish and complement it with a nice simple sauce. So go and borrow somebody's pasta rolling machine and give this a try - once you realise how easy and delicious it is you'll go and buy one of your own :) This spaghetti is fine to eat the same day but the longer you dry it the better it will hold together when you cook it - so overnight is ideal!

On the other hand - if you don't feel like making your own spaghetti then you can substitute some spinach fettuccine or other special store bought pasta.

Ingredients:

Basil Spaghetti

1 1/2 cups fine semolina

1/2 cup wholemeal flour

1-2 tbsp olive oil

2/3 cup water

1 loosely packed cup fresh basil leaves

Roasted Tomato Garlic Sauce

6-7 fresh tomatoes

3 cloves garlic

1 onion

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp tomato paste

1 tbsp soy sauce

1 tsp raw sugar

8-10 pitted kalamata olives

3 tbsp chopped oregano

To Make:

1. Preheat the oven to approximately 180 degrees Celsius.

The Pasta

1. Shred the basil in a food processor. Add the semolina and flour and process briefly to combine. With the food processor still on gradually add the water and olive oil. The mix will begin to look like breadcrumbs and then as it mixes will turn into a thick dough. 

2. Dust the a workspace with some flour and turn the mix out onto the flour. Knead very briefly to add a bit more flour to the mix, if the dough is too sticky add some more flour.

3. Cut the mix into 8 equal portions and put through your pasta roller according to it's instructions. You will probably find you need an extra set of hands to help.

4. As you roll out the spaghetti lay them flat carefully on a piece of greaseproof paper (try not to make the strands too long - try for about the length you would get in a packet of ready made spaghetti) and leave to dry. I would advise that you leave it for a minimum of half an hour but I actually recommend several hours. The best would be overnight, the longer you leave it to dry the more the pasta will stick together when you cook it. I dried my first batch for 30 minutes and it broke up into short lengths when I cooked it, then I dried my second batch for 5 hours or so and it stayed together beautifully. 

The Sauce

1. Chop the tomatoes in half and then chop each half into 4-6 pieces. Slice the onion into thin wedges and peel and roughly chop the garlic.

2. Drizzle a baking dish with olive oil and add the tomato, onion and garlic. Stir well to coat with oil. Put in the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the onion is cooked and the garlic has softened.

3. Stir in all the remaining ingredients and return to the oven for about 5 minutes while you make the pasta.

And then..

1. Bring a large pot of water to the boil. Once the water is boiling add your basil spaghetti to the boiling water and stir gently to prevent sticking. Fresh pasta doesn't take long to cook and your spaghetti should be cooked after about 1 or 2 minutes of boiling. Drain.

2. Serve topped with the Baked Tomato Garlic Sauce!