03 Apr parsley pesto

After a few months of delicious winter eating, our palates are ready for a refresher. Spring brings a bounty of new ingredients with it and I like to take full advantage of the change in the seasons to reinvigorate my recipe repertoire with my Moroccan take on parsley pesto, to which the secret ingredient is sweet preserved lemons.

Walnut and Parsley Pesto

Prep Time: 5 minutes

50g of parsley

Half a preserved lemon, skin removed and flesh finely chopped

1 clove of garlic

20 tablespoon of rapeseed oil (or olive oil)

2 tablespoon chopped walnuts

1 tablespoon of finely grated Parmesan

Salt

Pepper

1. Pick the leaves from the parsley and add to your food processor.

2. Remove the skin from your preserved lemon and finely chop its flesh before adding to the parsley.

3. Finely grate the clove of garlic into the parsley.

4. Pour in the oil and blitz until the parsley is finely chopped.

5. Now add the walnuts, grated Parmesan and a generous pinch of salt and pepper. Give it another blitz and serve with spaghetti or in a sandwich.

Storecupboard Essential: Preserved Lemons

Preserved lemons are pickled lemons that have been intensifying flavours in Indian and North African cuisine for centuries. Get them in your local Middle Eastern specialist shop or make your own.

This recipe was first published in The Irish Independent on March 26th