Summer Vegetables with Radish Greens Pesto

If I had total freedom to choose what we eat, I would have no problem becoming a vegetarian. I love vegetables in any shape and form. My 7 year old kid likes the idea too, on the condition he can still eat sausages and chicken wings. Well, he needs a bit more time to grasp the difference between vegetarian, vegan and...us, but at least he's asking good questions. So if I had total freedom to choose what we eat, I would make a version of this oven dish, with whatever vegetables are in the season and whatever greens I have available to make pesto. The beauty of mastering a few basic cooking techniques and knowing how to mix and balance the flavours, is that you are not the slave of recipe books and online recipes anymore. You search some ideas for inspiration, then you open your fridge, your pantry and your other corners of the house where you might keep ingredients, and you'll be able to make something delicious with very few additional ingredients that you need to buy.

Last week I got some nice fresh radishes from my parents in law who keep a small garden and a green house. They were delicious but I was left with a bunch of radish greens that I didn't want to throw away. I checked what other greens I still had around: some basil, a bit of parsley and dill. I also had homemade bread crumbs from bread leftovers and I actually had been thinking what to make with them. A handful of pine nuts, a bit of parmesan cheese and it all came together: radish greens pesto. The nice thing about this pesto is that it keeps up to two three weeks in the fridge and you can use it on pasta, roasted vegetables, sandwiches or even grilled bread. If you want to try the classic pesto recipe, you can check my previous post on pasta pesto in 15 minutes.

Working from home in the last year was not easy for me, but one advantage I found was that I could eat more diverse and healthier meals for lunch. It's not so easy for me to prepare salads or warm meals when I'm in the office, as it takes too much preparation upfront and I don't have all the ingredients, spices, herbs and other accessories at hand. But at home, I can make such oven dishes in no time and let them bake in the oven while I am finishing a conference call.

Ingredients

For the radish greens pesto

60 g fresh radish green leaves (or you can mix, like I did, 30 g radish leaves and 30 g basil, parsley and dill)

20 g pine nuts

20 g breadcrumbs

1 clove of garlic

60 g Parmesan cheese (broken into smaller pieces)

150 ml olive oil

Juice from ½ lemon

Salt and pepper to taste

(this quantity is enough to make 2-3 different dishes)

For the oven vegetables (serves 2)

2 large summer tomatoes

1 zucchini

250 g mozzarella

2 cloves garlic

50 g pesto

1/2 lemon

Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation

Step 1

Cut the zucchini in slices and place them on a paper towel or plate. Sprinkle some salt on top and let them on the counter for 10 minutes, until you make the pesto. The salt will bring some of the water to the surface so they don't leave so much water when you bake them in the oven. After 10 minutes, wipe the surface of the slices with a paper towel, to absorb as much water as you can.

Step 2

To make the green pesto, add all the ingredients in a blender and mix until you get the desired consistency. I prefer to still taste small pieces of pine nuts and cheese, so I never mix it too long. Also, try to not over-mix it, as the basil leaves oxidise pretty fast and you can get a dark coloured pesto that is not so appealing to the eyes.

Step 3

Slice the tomatoes and the mozzarella in equally thick slices. In an oven dish, start arranging the ingredients by alternating a tomato slice, a zucchini slice and the mozzarella. Squeeze the garlic cloves to paste and sprinkle on top. Then spread some pesto over the vegetables. Add salt and pepper to taste and squeeze half a lemon.

Step 4

Bake in the oven at 180° for 35-40 minutes or until the vegetables are roasted and the cheese is melted. You can eat as a side dish next to a piece of grilled chicken breast, or like me, as main dish with some grilled bread slices next to it. Enjoy!

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