Coriander Pesto (Or Cilantro if you Happen to be American)

Happy Coriander

After some unsuccessful attempts at coriander cultivation in our herb garden, I was thrilled to see we'd finally made some progress.  I love a flavoursome pesto and thought I'd whip one up for a mid-week pasta.  This recipe was one from bestrecipes.com.au that I adapted slightly.

NB: I buzzed this up in my food processor, but for those lucky Thermomix owners - even easier -  (please tell my hubby I NEED one) 

2 cups of coriander with stems - give it a good rinse
2 cloves of chopped garlic
3/4 to 1 cup of unsalted cashews (I followed the recipe and used 1 cup, but personally think 3/4 cup would be a better balance - up to you depending on whether you prefer more coriander flavour to come through or you like the extra nuttiness)
4 tablespoons of macadamia nut oil - the really real virgin olive oil can sometimes have a slightly bitter aftertaste, hence the macadamia oil but again, up to you
1 lemon juiced
4 tablespoons of grated parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Briefly blitz all the ingredients except the oil and then slowly add the oil while you continue blitzing.  And your pesto is done! 

I cooked up some gluten free penne pasta, added some roasted then peeled capsicum (hint - roast capsicum in oven on high temp until they've softened and have slightly blackened skin, take out of oven and cover for a few minutes to sweat making peeling off the skin much easier), some halved and oven roasted cherry tomatoes, a bit of rocket and goats cheese on top.  Get as creative as you want with what you add. 

Delicious!