Hey Pesto

Pesto can be bought in jars and makes a good storecupboard standby but you can't beat fresh, either bought or homemade.

To make it yourself, the classic recipe combines garlic, basil, toasted pine nuts and a Parmesan substitute whizzed in a food processor, adding a stream of olive oil and seasoning. It can be used immediately and kept in the fridge for up to a week. Alternatively you can use a pestle and mortar or heat all the ingredients in a pan over a low heat.

The classic recipe can be tweaked in many ways so that other soft herbs or greens may be used, a different type of nut, different cheeses and even an oil such as grape seed with lemon juice.

Your choice of pesto can then be added to pizza toppings, stirred through pasta, put in dips, spread on or baked into bread, used in tarts, tossed with potatoes or vegetables, used in salad dressings or to garnish soup.

I particularly like to make Mary Berry's Antipasti Pasta. It can be eaten warm as a starter or main course or cold to serve as part of a summer buffet. The ingredients can be bought at the deli or supermarket and added to the cooked pasta before stirring through the pesto.