Pinsa primavera with anchovy

For ➍ 

2 pinsa bottoms

400 g baby spinach

1 clove garlic

140 g green pesto

125 g marinated artichoke hearts

50 g anchovy fillet

250 g mozzarella

2 tbs dried oregano

spicy olive oil

nutmeg

salt & pepper

Preheat the oven to the highest setting. Rinse the spinach and drain well. Peel and chop the garlic. Stew the garlic and spinach in a pan with olive oil, season with pepper, salt and nutmeg. Scoop them out of the pan and drain well in a colander. Press out all the liquid with the rounded side of a spoon.

Drain the anchovies and artichoke hearts. Halve the artichoke hearts. Spread a layer of pesto on the pinsa bases and spoon the spinach in heaps on top. Finish them off with the halved artichoke hearts and anchovy fillets. Tear the mozzarella into pieces and top the pinsas with it. Season the pinsas with the oregano and bake them in the oven for 10 minutes.

Finish the pinsas with a little (spicy) olive oil and the extra spinach. Cut them into pieces and serve.

Burrata with warm peppers & tomato salad

For ➍
3 mixed peppers
4 tbs olive oil
360 g mixed tomatoes
2 tbs green pesto
½ jar (90 g) sun-ripened olives Taggia
1 ciabatta
1 burrata

Halve the peppers, remove the stalk and seeds and cut into strips 1 cm wide. Heat 2 tbs oil in a frying pan or wok and fry the peppers over high heat for 8 m. Stir frequently.
Meanwhile, halve the tomatoes and cook for 1 m with the pepper mix. Remove the pan from the heat.
Mix the pesto with the remaining oil and stir in the olives. Spoon into a bowl and let stand for 5 m.
Meanwhile, tear the bread into pieces. Put the burrata on the pepper-tomato salad and serve with the bread. Drizzle cheese with some oil.

Green pizza gorgonzola

For ➍ 

350 g frozen fine garden peas 

90 g chilled pesto 

2 zucchini 

100 g Gorgonzola piccante 

2 rolls of chilled pizza dough round and thin 

3 tbs mild olive oil

Preheat the oven to 200 °C. 

Place the peas in a bowl and pour boiling water over it. Drain in a colander. Place the peas and pesto in a tall cup and mash with the hand blender until smooth. Season with pepper and salt if desired. Use a cheese slicer to cut wide ribbons off the zucchini. Cut the crust off the gorgonzola and cut the cheese into pieces of about 2 cm. 

Roll out the pizza dough on a baking tray covered with baking paper and spread with the green spread. Divide the zucchini ribbons in a kind of loose florets over the pizza and divide the Gorgonzola over it. Drizzle with the oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. 

Bake the pizzas 15-20 m until golden brown.

Italian rösti with broccoli & meatballs

For ➍
2 cloves of garlic
2 tbs mild olive oil
1 tbs dried rosemary
750 g rösti
500 g broccoli
250 g cherry tomatoes
15 g fresh basil
250 g beef soup balls

Finely chop the garlic cloves. Heat the oil in a frying pan and fry the garlic and rosemary 1 m over low heat. Add the rösti, salt and pepper and bake for 15 m over medium to high heat. Toss regularly. 
Meanwhile, cut the broccoli into small florets, peel the stump and cut into small pieces. Halve the cherry tomatoes and finely chop the basil. Add the broccoli and balls and fry for 10 m. Toss regularly.
Remove the pan from the heat and add the tomatoes and basil. Season with pepper and salt if desired.

*Delicious with fresh green pesto.

Pesto omelet

For ➊
3 egg whites
1 large egg
salt & pepper
35 g cooked chicken breast, into small cubes,
2 tbs goat cheese, crumbled
1 tbs sun-dried tomatoes, packed (dip off all oil)
1 tbs pesto, green or red
fresh basil

Spray a small 10 cm pan with cooking spray and heat on medium-low heat for 2 m.
While the pan heats, whisk together the egg whites and egg and add a pinch of salt and pepper.
Pour the egg mixture unto the pan and cook, making sure you occasionally tilt the pan and lift up the set egg, letting the uncooked egg run underneath it to cook. Cook until the omelet is just set, about 3 to 5 m, you don’t want the bottom to become too brown!
Spread the chicken over half of the omelet, followed by the goat cheese. Finally, sprinkle the sun dried tomatoes on top. Flip the other side over and on top, so it covers all the fillings. Let cook for a few s so the goat cheese gets warm and melty.
Spread the pesto on top of the omelet and sprinkle with fresh basil.

Pesto pasta with avocado

For ➍
1 avocado, diced into bite-sized cubes
250 g pasta, any kind
extra sea salt or kosher salt & fresh ground black pepper, to taste
green pesto*

Prepare the green pesto*.
Cook the pasta according to the package instructions, or however you like to cook your pasta. Drain well.
Combine it all. Toss the prepared pasta with your prepared pesto until well combined, then gently toss together with the diced avocado, being careful not to break up the avocado.
Give it another little sprinkle of sea salt or kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper to serve.

*Use a red pesto instead.

Witloof @ wok

For ➍
4 (witloof) endives
½ red pepper
1 lemon
1 tbs (olive) oil
1 clove garlic
2 tbs red pesto
salt
freshly ground black pepper
3 sprigs of fresh basil

Clean the endives. Tear the leaves off.
Cut the pepper into small cubes.
Wash the lemon, grate the zest and squeeze the lemon.
Heat oil in a wok. Add the crushed garlic. Add the endive leaves, pepper, 2 tbs lemon juice, lemon zest and pesto and stir-fry the dish for about 2 m. Bring the dish to taste with salt and pepper.
Garnish with shredded fresh basil leaves.

Trapani couscous

For ➍
300 g couscous
1½ tablet fish broth
500 g prawns raw & unpeeled (thawed)
190 g toasted almonds
15 g coriander
20 g flat leaf parsley
10 cl extra virgin olive oil
250 g cherry tomatoes on the branch
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 onions, cut into half rings

Put the couscous in a large bowl. Dissolve 1 broth tablet in 35 cl of boiling water. Pour over the couscous and stir. Leave covered for 10 m. Stand.
Meanwhile peel the prawns, saving the tails. With a sharp knife remove the gut.
Put the almonds, coriander, parsley and oil in a high cup and puree with a hand blender until pesto.
Stir in the couscous with a fork. Keep 2 tbs almond pesto apart and mix the rest with the couscous. Season with pepper and a little salt. Place the tomatoes on the stem on top*.
Heat 1 tbs pesto in a frying pan and fry the garlic for 1 m. Add the onion and cook for 4 m. Add 25 cl of boiling water and ½ tablet of stock. Bring to the boil and simmer 2 minutes. Simmer.
Add the shrimp to the sauce and simmer for 5 m or until done.
Put the sauce in a bowl and toss the rest of the pesto through. Serve with couscous.

*Or add to the pesto.

The Sicilian town of Trapani was founded bij Greek colonists, conquered by Phoenicians, Carthago and Rome. Under Muslim rule, it became an important port for the sale of salt. It is still very close to Africa and continues the culinary traditions. The pesto is adapted from Genuese sailors, coming to Sicily, using local products as tomatoes and almonds.

Pesto alla Trapanese (Sicilian almonds & tomato pesto) (pesto rosso)

For ➍
190 g toasted almonds
15 g coriander*
20 g flat leaf parsley*
10 cl extra virgin olive oil
250 g cherry tomatoes

Put the almonds, coriander, parsley and oil in a high cup and puree with a hand blender until pesto. Add the tomatoes, or serve on the dish.
Serve with couscous or with pasta like penne or farfalle.

*Or 35 g basil

Hollandse groentensoep (Dutch vegetable soup with fish balls)

For ➍
300 g fillets plaice
1 tbs green pesto
1 tbs cornstarch
30 g tomato croutons
1.5 l water
3 chicken stock tablets
150 g vermicelli
1 small cauliflower
350 g peasant soup vegetables (leek, celery, carrot, celery, cauliflower & peppers)

Cut the fish into pieces. Put the fish with the pesto in a food processor and grind finely. Put the fish with pesto in a bowl and mix the cornstarch and croutonmix through. Rotate it with wet hands soup balls.
Bring water and broth tablets to the boil. Add the vermicelli and cook 2 m.
Meanwhile Divide the cauliflower into small florets. Merge with fish balls and soup vegetables to the broth. Let 6 m. Simmer until the meatballs cooked and the vegetables are just tender.
Serve with hearty bread floor.

Red mullet with pesto potato mash

For ➍
fresh pesto
1 kg potatoes
500 g red mullet fillets with skin (or another white fish)
olive oil
pepper & salt

milk*

Boil the potatoes in salted water (20 m).

Puree the cooked potatoes into smooth mash.

Put the potatoes in a pot. Add the pesto to it. Mix everything together into a smooth puree. (Add some milk to smooth)*. Season. Keep warm.

Heat a skillet. Heat a little olive oil.

Remove bones from fish. Make diagonal cuts in the skins.

Season the fish with salt and pepper.

Put the fish in the pan with the skin side down. Fry 5 m over medium-high heat. Turn the fillets over. Fry for 5 - 10 s.

Serve the fillets with a scoop of pesto potato mash and a bunch of baked cherry tomatoes. Scoop a spoonful of the tomato baking juices (without the herbs) over the fish.

*Optional.

Easy green pesto

For ➍
60 g pine nuts
80 g Parmigiano (freshly grated)
60 g basil
1 clove garlic
15 cl olive oil
½ lemon
salt & pepper

Put pine nuts, bits of Parmigiano, garlic and basil into a blender. When well blended, add olive oil and mix at full speed until a smooth pesto. Add the lemon juice.
Season the pesto with a pinch of salt and freshly ground pepper.

Basil, named after 'basileus', Greek for 'king' because it was believed to grow on the place where supposed remains of the Holy Cross were discovered. It is originally found in Iran, India and other Asian tropical regions and has been used for 5,000 years. The 'holy basil' and Thai basil, used in Asian cuisine, differ from the sweet basil, used in Italy and Europe.
Tip: To keep home made pesto longe, use a clean jar, add some oil on top of the paste and keep refrigerated. Might last a few weeks. Fresh Pesto can also be frozen in small quantities. Omit the Parmigiano, and add when used. Might last a year.

Green eggs & ham

Makes ❺
75 g (fresh) pesto*
1 egg
75 g flour
15 cl semi-skimmed milk
oil for frying
5 large thin slices ham

Whisk together the pesto, egg, flour and milk to make a batter.
Oil a heavy-based frying pan, wipe away excess oil with kitchen paper. Place over a medium heat.
Ladle in approximately 10 cl of batter, swirling instantly to gain a paper-thin pancake.
Once the top becomes dry and the edges lift away, turn it over with a thin spatula to cook the other side for about 30 s.
Layer the pancakes between pieces of baking parchment or greaseproof paper as you go, and when you have finished making them, lay a slice of ham on each one.
Roll up or fold into triangles for breakfast.
Serve with a green salad, potatoes, or coleslaw for a light lunch.

*Use a mix of 1 tbs chopped chives, and ½ tbs of chopped fresh parsley instead.
**Make broiled eggs of the mixture (without flour) instead of pancakes and serve with ham.

Panzanella

For ➋
3 slices day-old ciabatta bread*
2 tbs pesto
½ cucumber
1 yellow pepper
1 medium red onion
2 big firm tomatoes (+/-650 g)
1 handful basil
3 tbs red wine vinegar
4 tbs olive oil
½ ts mustard

Cut the ciabatta into 2-3 cm cubes and dry-roast in a non-stick pan. Transfer to a bowl and toss in 2 tbs of pesto while still hot. Leave to cool.**
Make a vinaigrette with the vinegar, olive oil and mustard.
Clean and cut all vegetables into 3 cm chunks, combine in a bowl and pour over the vinaigrette. Combine thoroughly. Just before serving, fold in the ciabatta pieces and decorate with shredded basil.

*Or firm country bread.
**Alternatively, crumble the bread and sprinkle with some dots of vinegar.