Mint & Basil Pesto, Courgette & Bacon Conchiglie
Freshen up your herby pesto pasta with summery mint, basil and spinach for some hidden veg. Sizzle bacon for smoky flavour, and stir through courgette ribbons and conchiglie to serve.
Ingredients for 2 people
Cooking for 3? 1 and a half for each ingredient Cooking for 4? Double each ingredient
You'll also need
Olive oil, Pepper, Salt, Vegetable oil, Water (or dietary alternatives)
Cooking instructions
Instructions for 2 [for 3] [for 4] portion recipe.
Boil half a kettle
Add your spinach to a colander and pour boiled water all over it so that it starts to wilt
Rinse the wilted spinach under cold running water until it's cool
Once cool, squeeze as much of the water out of the cooled spinach as you can, then chop it roughly
Reboil the kettle
Strip your mint leaves from their stems and chop them roughly, discard the stems
Roughly chop your basil, including the stalks
Peel and roughly chop your garlic
Add the chopped garlic (don't like raw garlic? Go easy!), chopped spinach, most of the chopped basil (save some for garnish!) and chopped mint to a food processor
Add 2 tbsp [3 tbsp] [4 tbsp] olive oil, a generous pinch of salt and a grind of black pepper and blitz until smooth
Add your chicken stock mix, soft cheese and 1 tbsp [1 1/2 tbsp] [2 tbsp] cold water and blitz again – this is your mint & basil pesto
Top, tail and peel lengths off your courgette[s] with a peeler until you end up with a pile of courgette ribbons
Chop the remaining courgette core[s] into bite-sized pieces
Add your conchiglie to a pot of boiled water and bring to the boil over a high heat
Cook for 8-10 min or until cooked with a slight bite
Once the pasta is done, add the courgette ribbons to a sieve and drain the conchiglie over the courgette ribbons, reserving a cup of the starchy pasta water
Heat a large, wide-based pan (preferably non-stick) with a drizzle of vegetable oil over a medium-high heat
Once hot, add your bacon lardons and cook for 3-4 min or until golden and crisp
Once golden, add the chopped courgette core to the pan and cook for 2 min further or until softened and caramelised
Add the drained conchiglie and courgette ribbons to the pan with the bacon lardons and the mint & basil pesto
Give everything a good mix up and cook for 1 min further or until the sauce begins to stick to the pasta – this is your mint & basil pesto, courgette & bacon conchiglie
Tip: Add a splash of starchy pasta water if it's looking a little dry
Serve the mint & basil pesto, courgette & bacon conchiglie and sprinkle over your grated Italian hard cheese
Garnish with the remaining chopped basil
Season with a generous grind of black pepper and drizzle with a little olive oil
Enjoy!
Nutritional information
Nutritional information only applies to ingredients supplied by Gousto.
serving
The cooking process and additional ingredients added at home (listed under “You'll also need”) will affect total values.
Allergens
Allergens highlighted by † (gluten, milk).
In addition to the recipe specific allergen information provided, due to production and packing methods Gousto boxes may also contain low levels of the following allergens: Cereals containing gluten; Crustaceans; Eggs; Fish; Peanuts; Soya; Milk; Nuts: almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, cashews, pecan nuts, brazil nuts, pistachio nuts, macadamia nuts; Celery; Sesame; Sulphur dioxide and Sulphites; Lupin; Molluscs; Mustard.
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