Pesto Pasta With Smoked Bacon

I had a pot of fresh organic basil in my kitchen & had to use it up. I love making fresh pestos from scratch! In the past, I made these delicious apart tasty pestos but never did I make the normal basil pesto before! :)

Recipe: Enough pesto for 2 persons

Ingredients:

* For the basil pesto:

2 medium garlic cloves, peeled & roughly chopped

1 big plant of basil leaves, cleaned, stems removed, roughly chopped

20 grins of black pepper

1/4 teaspoon of crushed Maldon sea salt

1/4 cup (25 gr) grated Parmesan

1/4 cup (35 gr) pine nuts

1/4 cup + 1/8 cup (90 ml) of a fruity extra virgin olive oil

* For the rest:

350 gr egg-free dairy-free spelt spaghetti

1 medium courgette, (220 gr) skin washed, pad dry, cut up into thinner rounds & each round cut up into smaller strips

200 gr smoked bacon pieces, Use smoked bacon that is dairy-free.

black pepper

some sea salt

1. First, make the toasted pine nuts. Place pine nuts in 1 layer in a dry pan & heat up on low-fire. Let the nuts toast without burning them. Often, shake your pan. With your hands & spoon, turn the nuts over for an equal roast. After a few minutes, they will be golden & roasted. Your kitchen will smell amazing! Turn heat off & set aside.

2. Now, make your basil pesto. Take your beloved food processor & place the S-blade in. Add chopped garlic, basil leaves & pine nuts. Add grated Parmesan cheese, 20 grins of black pepper & your sea salt. Pour 60 ml of your fruity evoo in it. Put lid on & pulse a few times or on higher power to mix it more finely. It is up to you! Sometimes, I like a more coarse pesto but sometimes I like it to be more fine. I added 30 ml oil extra so that is 90 ml in total. Taste! You must taste the basil first & then all the rest! It has to be pungent a bit with that raw garlic & that lovely parmesan! I like that my pesto is not to oily. This is the way, I like it! :).

3. In the meantime, cook your spelt spaghetti according to your packet instructions. Rinse well with water. Fry your courgette pieces in that same fruity evoo until browned & cooked through. Season with some sea salt & black pepper. When your courgettes, are nearly ready, push them to one side of a pan. On the other side, fry your smoked bacon pieces until browned & cooked through. I seasoned my bacon with some black pepper. Stir the courgette pieces through the fried bacon. Take your spaghetti & add 3 to 4 tablespoons of your pesto through the hot pasta. Put it into 2 clean pasta plates & top each plate with the smoked bacon-courgette mix! Enjoy! All for he flavours go wonderful together! MMM! :)

You can use some pesto that you have leftover the next day as a spread on bread, on some chicken fillets before they go into the hot oven, etc! You can find this tasty recipe also here on my blog: http://sophiesfoodiefiles.wordpress.com/2015/05/03/simple-pesto-pasta-smoked-bacon/

You might like my other pestos too!

1. Coriander walnut pesto

2. Red pesto

3. Spinach & rocket leaves pesto

4. Sage walnut pesto