I absolutely love pesto, is by far one of my favourite pasta sauce. I love playing around with different flavours and ingredients combinations and this one has been my latest obsession. I love using macadamia as they are so buttery and they create the creamiest of the texture. By mixing in some roasted tomatoes and grilled courgettes this dish burst with gorgeous summer noted perfect for lazy al fresco dinners.

Ingredients:

¾ cup of macadamia nuts

A generous handful of fresh basil leaves

1 cup of chopped spring onions tips ( only the green part not the white)

2 tablespoons of olive oil

The juice of 1 lemon (use half if you don’t like too lemony)

1 tablespoon of One Earth Green Goddess

2 tablespoons of nutritional yeast

½ clove of garlic

Salt & pepper to taste

Pasta of your choice (I have used brown rice spaghetti)

For the roasted tomatoes & courgette:

1 large courgette

About 2 cups of cherry tomatoes

A splash of olive oil

Salt & pepper to taste

To sprinkle on top: dried chilli flakes and hemp seeds (optional)

Place the macadamia in the food processor and blitz until you have a coarse mixture. Add all the other ingredients and blitz again for at least 1 minute until you have a creamy consistency. If you find the pesto too thick add a splash of water or more olive oil.

For the roasted tomatoes: slice the cherry tomatoes in half and place them on a baking tray. Drizzle the tomatoes with some olive oil and sprinkle with some salt and pepper. Bake in the oven at 150 degrees celsius for 30 minutes

For the roasted courgette: slice it into thick slices and either place them in baking tray with a drizzle of olive oil, salt & pepper and bake them in the oven for 20-25 minutes. You can also cook them on a griddle pan, about 2-3 minutes on each sides.

Cook the pasta of your choice according to the cooking instructions. Mix about 2 tablespoon of pesto in each plate and sprinkle with the fresh chopped chives.

Store the leftover pesto in a jar in the fridge for few days.