Hey Presto, Parsley Pesto.

This time you get a sneak peek into my kitchen where my wife Siobhan shares her recipe for parsley pesto. Sometimes the best things happen by accident and this pesto is no exception. It came about when planted too much parsley for our seedling sales and had to find something to do with it. This stuff is now the new ketchup in our house and it's difficult to see how we managed without it. Parsley pesto in especially good with fish, just spread a generous gloop on pretty much any fish and stick it in the oven for 15 mins, perfect.

Parsley Pesto. When threatened with a glut of parsley about to go into orbit and realising there is only so much chopped parsley one can keep putting on everyone’s meal, I needed to take action.

I thought about making basil pesto but since my crop of basil is decidedly not blooming, I turned to my burgeoning parsley plot instead. This is the thing you can make and everyone will marvel at your culinary skills, you can smile smugly, secretly knowing it took about 5 mins to prepare. It will give days, if not weeks of satisfaction although it is consumed so quickly in our house, being put to use on everything from oatcakes to baked white fish.

Ingredients: I like garlic so I used quite a few cloves , 9 or 10 approx. Parsley – I had quite a lot , 6 or 7 handfuls of both flat leaf and curly. Rapeseed Oil for it’s milder flavour than Olive, as the parsley can give a fair punch. Pinenuts, a few table spoons depending on your taste. Alternatively you can use walnuts or cashews. Parmesan Cheese – optional. It gives a richness to the flavour but is not necessary. A good pinch of Maldon Sea Salt or any other type of sea salt and pepper.

I’d like to say there is a technique to making it, but there isn’t. Throw the leaves, garlic, nuts, salt, pepper and cheese (if using), in the whizzer and press the button, start pouring the oil in as it’s whizzing. Pour enough oil depending on the consistency you may prefer, be it spreadable or runny.

Store in jars in the fridge, with a layer of oil on the top to keep it fresh.

That’s it. Enjoy.