Watercress Pesto Recipe

Watercress Pesto

I make a lot of pesto in my household. Especially in the spring there is something very comforting about a big plate of pasta with a pesto made from greens. Even my two picky boys can agree that pasta is delicious and will eat it happily. Since basil pesto can get boring I love switching up the pesto that I make with various spring greens. Last month I even tried a delicious asparagus pesto, which turned out perfectly. My husband is a big fan of greens that have more of a bite, while my kids would be happy eating basil pesto frequently. This week I tried a new recipe for Watercress Pesto from Martha Stewart Living.

This recipe has 7 ingredients. It takes 30 minutes of total time, 20 minutes of which is active and makes 4 servings. I only made a few changes to the original recipe. First I made two versions, one gluten free and one with regular pasta. I did not use whole wheat spaghetti for the regular pasta, my family will not eat it (and I have tried I promise - every brand and they still hate it). To toast the pine nuts I used a skillet on the stove, very easy just make sure to watch them and they should only take a couple of minutes. Make sure to adequately salt the pesto, it will need a fair amount.

My husband and I thought this pesto was good. I would suggest adding more garlic, I like my pesto pretty garlicky tasting. I also would add a fair amount of crushed red pepper. It can be a little bland without it. The addition of cheese would also be nice, Romano would work nicely with the flavors.

For the recipe go to Watercress Pesto.