Ingredients
300g Fresh spinach
2 Garlic cloves
100g Salted peanuts
100g Parmesan cheese or pecorino cheese Extra virgin olive oil
1 lemon
1/2 slice of bread
Freshly milled black pepper
30g Feta cheese (optional) 400g Dried spaghetti
200g Cherry tomatoes
2 tbsp Sherry vinegar
4 tbsp Extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp Honey
Salt and pepper
 
Here’s how:
Firstly, bring a large pan of salted water to the boil. It’s really important that you use a large pan as the pasta needs lots of space to bounce around during the cooking process.
Meanwhile, while the pasta is cooking, make this delicious pesto. Place the spinach into a a food processor with the 2 garlic cloves.
Scatter in the salted peanuts, grate in the cheese and pour in the olive oil.
Season up with a little black pepper.
I like to add a squeeze of lemon juice and some bread crumbs to help bind the sauce together.
Have a quick taste and season if required.
Add the feta cheese if you fancy it.
Cut the cherry tomatoes in half and place in a bowl with the vinegar, olive oil, honey and seasoning.
Stir together and put to one side.
Now that the pasta is almost cooked, lift a ladle of the pasta water into a large shallow pan, add half the pesto and stir together.
Do not put the pan on the heat.
Lift the pasta out using a pair of tongs and transfer into the pesto sauce.
Stir together and serve up with the dressed cherry tomatoes.
Keep the remaining pesto in a jar in the fridge for up to two weeks.
Top tip - Pour a layer of olive oil on top of the pesto to trap the air out as it helps keep it for longer.
A good wine for this pesto recipe would be a chilled bottle of sauvignon Blanc or a Gruner Veltiner
 
Recipe by Peter Sidwell