Homemade Rocket Pesto Orzo

Put a frying pan on medium heat (no oil!) and add the pine nuts. Dry-fry for 1 minute, or until they start to turn golden. Tip:Watch them like a hawk or they will burn! Once golden, tip your pine nuts onto your chopping board and chop them as finely as you can (don’t wash the pan, you’ll use it later to dry-fry the courgette!).

Put your basil, chopped rocket and pine nuts in a bowl. Sprinkle in the hard Italian cheese, a pinch of salt and a good grind of black pepper and pour in your best quality olive oil (amount specified in the ingredient list). Add a quarter of your garlic and mix everything together thoroughly, this is your pesto. Tip:If you have a food processor, you can use it here, but we prefer the satisfaction of doing it by hand!

For your tomato salad, squeeze the lemon juice into another bowl and pour in a drizzle of olive oil. Add your tomato and a quarter of your shallot and mix everything together.

Put your remaining shallot in a saucepan with a drizzle of oil on medium heat and cook for 3-4 mins, then add the rest of your garlic and cook for 1 minute more. Add the orzo and stir it around until it is nicely coated, then pour in the water (amount specified in the ingredient list) and add the vegetable stock pot.

Bring to the boil, then turn the heat down and simmer for 10 mins or until your pasta is ‘al dente’ and the liquid has been absorbed. Tip:‘Al dente’ simply means the pasta is cooked through but has a tiny bit of firmness left in the middle. Stir from time to time to ensure it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan! Tip:If all the liquid has been absorbed and the pasta is not quite cooked, just add a little more water and keep cooking.

While your pasta is cooking, put the pan you used for your pine nuts back on medium heat without any oil. Once the pan is hot, add your courgette and cook for 7-8 mins until charred, turning occasionally. Once charred, remove the pan from the heat. Tip:If they are not very charred, just leave them cooking for a bit longe