Homemade Rocket Pesto Orzotto

Now for the pesto! Put a frying pan on medium heat (no oil!) and add the pine nuts. Dry fry them 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 courgettes!).

Put your finely chopped basil, 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 (the amount is specified in the table above). Add a quarter of your grated garlic and mix everything together thoroughly. Tip: If you do happen to have a food processor, you can use it here, but we prefer the satisfaction of doing it by hand!

Squeeze the lemon juice into another larger bowl and pour in a good drizzle of olive oil. Add your tomatoes and a quarter of your chopped shallot. Mix everything together and leave to the side.

Put your remaining chopped shallot in a pan with a drizzle of oil on medium heat and cook for 3-4 mins, before adding your remaining garlic and cooking for 1 minute more. Add the orzo and stir it around until it is nicely coated in your garlicky oil, then pour in the water (the amount is stated in the ingredient table above) and add the vegetable stock pot.

Bring to a simmer, stirring to dissolve your stock pot, then turn the heat down slightly and simmer gently 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 orzo is not quite cooked, just add a couple of tbsp of water and keep cooking.

Whilst your orzo 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 cubes and cook them for 7-8 mins, turning occasionally until they are charred. Remove the pan from the heat. Tip: If they are not very charred, just leave them cooking for a bit longer.