feel food club

10 minute

Better than Store-Bought, 10 Minute Homemade Basil Pesto

by Kommentar verfassen

There only is one green sauce that actually everyone likes – pesto. Contrary to all other green sauces, pesto somehow manages to convince, despite its very healthy looking color. And if you buy it at the store, it’s so easy, right? It is. But let me tell you, once you have made your homemade one, you‘ll never go back to store bought. This salty goodness just won‘t compete with the one from the store. Plus, it really just takes 10 minutes to make.

What’s special about this dish? 

To be honest, this is not too fancy or has a special twist. This is one of the few classic recipes. Because really, pesto is so heavenly as is. Actually making pesto yourself already is kinda really special. 

Traditional pesto

What even is pesto? What is it made of? And what differentiates traditional pesto from most store bought ones. So, pesto is a green sauce from Liguria, Italy. It is eaten with pasta, burrata, as a topping or a dip. It is made of fresh basil, grated parmesan, garlic, pine nuts, salt and olive oil. For a really good pesto, it is essential to use high quality ingredients, especially a good olive oil and some good parmesan cheese. And that already is the difference to most store bought ones. In order to make them cheaper, the quality is compromised. Often, there is water added to it or olive oil is partially substituted with some cheeper oil. This way it does not taste as intense and as good.

Also, when it comes to making pesto, it is really important which ingredients you blend, any which you stir in by hand. The basil, garlic and pine nuts need to be blended. The parmesan needs to be grated and then stirred in by hand along with the olive oil. You must not blend the parmesan and olive oil!!!!!! This needs to be stirred in by hand.

The only store bought pesto I buy is either the one from our local delicatessen store or the one from pastafani. They both have the right texture and high quality and taste like real, authentic pesto. So I can highly recommend this.

Is this dish healthy? 

Definitely healthy-ish. It is packed with lots and lots of healthy fats and vitamins. The basil accounts for a bunch of fibre and different vitamins. The nuts on the other hand are a great source of protein and also unsaturated fats. The olive oil, if high quality, also is an excellent source of omega-3 and other unsaturated fats. The parmesan cheese is packed with a bunch of protein but also saturated fat. So overall, a quite balanced meal. 

How to make this dish?

As the title says, this really takes 10 minutes only. All we need to do is blend the basil with the garlic cloves, roasted pine nuts and a pinch of salt. This should be blended really finely and make a thick paste. Then we need to grate the parmesan cheese and stir in a little parmesan cheese and a little oil a bit at a time until we get a creamy consistency. And yup, that already is it.

When and how to best have it and meal prep friendly? 

Pesto definitely is one of the most meal-prep friendly dishes. When you make it and have something left, you can just store it in a jar and cover it with oil. It‘ll last up to 2 weeks, if covered completely with oil, because then it is not in contact with fresh air. 

In terms of what to vest have it with, I‘d definitely say pasta!! Either Trofie (that‘s what you would typically get with pesto in Italy) or definitely on top of burrata or mozzarella, on top of salads, or, one of the best combos, which I have recently discovered is Pesto and Hummus. A MUST try! On bread, rice crackers or whatever – it is life changing.

Homemade Pesto is a must try and a real game changer. It is SO easy and honestly one of the most delicious things you could make. I know I have told you a bunch of times here, but there is no way you dl not try this! 

Print

Better than Store-Bought, 10 Minute Homemade Basil Pesto

There only is one green sauce that actually everyone likes – pesto.  It is SO easy and honestly one of the most delicious things you could make. Ready in 10 minutes (and gone in 5 probs)

Course basics, dinner, lunch
Prep Time 10 Minuten
Total Time 10 Minuten
Servings 4 servings

What you will need

  • 50 g basil
  • 30 g pine nuts
  • 2 cloves of garlic
  • 100 g parmesan cheese
  • 125 ml olive oil

How to

  1. Roast the pine nuts in a nonstick pan on high heat until golden. Add to a food processor along with the basil, the garlic and some salt. Blend until having reached a creamy paste.

  2. Finely grate the parmesan cheese.

  3. Add the basil mix to a bowl and about 2 tbsp at a time, add in the cheese and the olive oil. Then repeat until having nothing left.

  4. Serve with pasta, bread, salads, or just enjoy as is!

I am wishing you a whole bunch of fun and deliciousness when cooking! 
Enjoy,
Katie // Une Petite Cuisinière 

Super Easy Honey – Lemon Chickpea, Avocado & Feta Wraps

by Kommentar verfassen

You asked for 10 minute meals, so that’s what you get. And nope, we‘re not talking boring sandwiches or bread with butter. Very little time and very much flavour. That‘s what we’re talking. And there wraps definitely fit this category! 

A soft wrap on the outside filled with all the deliciousness you could imagine. Soft, mashed avo, crunchy greens & veggies, slightly sweet and damn addicting honey chickpeas and asparagus and some tangy feta to top it all off. All of this goodness is wrapped and rolled up. And with every bite you get an explosion of flavors.

What‘s special about this dish?

It comes together super super quickly and still is packed with flavour. It‘s not like your normal wrap that doesn’t take long to make but also does not taste very exciting. This is quick and still contains so many different flavour, although there are not many ingredients needed. Plus, it is vegetarian (vegan except for the feta) and still super versatile.

Is this dish healthy? 

Yes, it definitely is. It is packed with different nutrients of all categories. The wraps deliver us some good & comforting carbs so we‘ll have energy all throughout the afternoon, and when choosing a whole grain one, we‘re also getting some extra fibre for our digestion. Speaking of fibre, there‘s a bunch more of that in the cucumber, the greens, the asparagus and the avocado. And we also get a ton of vitamins therefrom.

Not to forget about the real star of the show; the chickpeas. Chickpeas are an amazing source of plant based protein and also fibre. They also make this dish really filling, and delicious. If you are not a fan of chickpeas, you can also try this recipe with tofu or even with chicken. And lastly, the feta. Feta cheese does not have a huge nutritional value but it comes with quite some protein and a lot of deliciousness!

How to make this dish?

As previously mentioned, this is super super easy. It essentially really only comes down to chopping the veggies and preparing the chickpeas. To make the peas, we only need to add them to a pan along with some olive oil, honey, lemon juice and some chopped up asparagus. We are then turning it onto medium heat and letting the honey caramelize. Since we are adding everything at once, nothing will burn or be more cooked through at the end.

For the veggies we only need to smash an avocado, slice up some cucumber, wash the greens, slice up some spring onions and crumble the feta. Yep, that‘s already it. All that’s now left to do is wrap it up. 

Definitely meal-prep friendly!

This really is amazing for meal prep. You just wrap it up, pack it into a tupperware and then take it to work or to school or to home office. Whenever you want to eat it, you can just take it out and enjoy! It is perfectly filling and very easy to be carried with you! 

I really hope that you‘ll enjoy this dish as much as we do and that you‘ll have an amazing time cooking!!

Print

Super Easy Honey – Lemon Chickpea, Avocado & Feta Wraps

This definitely is not your average wrap, it is wayyy better and still basically takes no time to make. The combination of slightly sweet Honey Chickpeas, a soft wrap, creamy mashed avo, crunchy veggies and tangy feta is just heaven. A meal prep dream and taste heaven.

Course dinner, lunch, mealprep
Prep Time 5 Minuten
Cook Time 5 Minuten
Total Time 10 Minuten
Servings 2 servings

What you will need

  • 2 large wraps
  • 1 can chickpeas
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 tbsp honey
  • 1/2 lemon
  • sea salt
  • 1/2 cucumber
  • 1 avocado
  • a handful greens
  • 50 g feta cheese

How to

  1. Drain and rinse the chickpeas. Add them to a pan along with the olive oil, honey, sea salt and the juice of a lemon. Turn up to medium heat and let it heat up and the honey caramelize, while stirring once in a while, then let simmer for 5 minutes.

  2. In the meantime mash the avocado and mix it with some sea salt. Finely slice the cucumber, wash the greens and crumble the feta cheese.

  3. Once the chickpeas are done, divide the avocado onto the wraps, top it with the cucumber and the greens. Then add the chickpeas and the feta and wrap it up. 

  4. Enjoy! 

Love,
Katie // Une Petite Cuisinière