Yeah, we have to admit, we miss Italy a lot! So we decided to make some homemade pasta at least. We did not use basil for the pesto, as we normally do, but rocket, and it worked perfectly. This is a lovely spring/summer recipe.
For 2 portions:
200g semolina ham
2 eggs
1 tbsp olive oil
2-3 tbsp waterPesto:
200g rocket
1 clove of garlic
40g grated parmesan
30g sliced almonds
50ml olive oil100g your favourite ham
30g sliced almonds
salt
Prepare the dough by mixing two eggs, olive oil and flour. It is important to put salt in – the gluten in the flour activates and the dough is much more elastic. Wrap it in plastic film and let it rest for 20 minutes. You do not have to put it in the fridge, on the contrary: the dough would harden and it would be more difficult to work with. Cook the pasta in salty water.
Create the pesto by blending rocket with garlic, parmesan and olive oil. Season with salt.
Slice the ham and fry it in a pan with olive oil until golden. Fry the almonds in a dry pan and season with salt immediately. In a bowl, mix together some water (from pasta), 4 tablespoons of pesto and the pasta. Move to a plate. Place the ham, almonds and fresh rocket on the top.
This pesto can get quite bitter, depends on the rocket you have. If you want to tone it down a little bit, you can replace a bit of the rocket with basil or parsley or use rapeseed oil instead of olive oil. The sweetness of of almonds and meaty flavour of the ham nicely compliments the pesto. Enjoy!