Lemon and Saffron Pesto Pesto

In the past I ran my own market stall making pesto (8 varieties) from beetroot to the basic basil. Unfortunately due to ever increasing fees and laws, combined with lack of time I decided to finish up. I was doing this before there where so many varieties on the supermarket shelves, I loved it and so did my customers, so much so that I got offered to bottle the product by a company but turned it down. Anyway here is the recipe for the Lemon and Saffron pesto.

Ingredients

325ml Oil

1g Saffron

100g Lemon

25g Thyme

100g Rockett

55g Parmesan

65g Pinenuts

Method

So you will need a food processor for this. This is a very different pesto and the flavours are very unique. It is not something you will see every day and can be a wonderful dip or accompaniment for a baked white fish like hapuka.

1. 1.In a pot add the saffron to the oil and gently heat. When the oil is hot, take off the heat and cool completely.

1. 2.In your food processor blend the lemon (juice and zest), parmesan and pinenuts to a chunky paste.

1. 3.Remove the leaves from the thyme and add these also, along with a third of the saffron oil and blend again.

1. 4.Next, slowly add the rockett until fully incorporated. Then slowly add the rest of the oil.

1. 5.Adjust the seasoning accordingly.

There are also recipes for beetroot and dill pesto, capsicum pesto, sunblushed tomato pesto (taste like bolognaise), pea and mint pesto and basil pesto.