After Christmas, it’s likely you have a packet of sprouts either in the freezer or at the back of the fridge drawer.
While sprouts taste delicious at Christmas with bacon lardons and chestnuts, they don’t have the same zing to them in January.
So what can you do with your leftover sprouts? Many chefs recommend stews or gratins but these can be time-consuming.
The UK’s number one food-saving app Too Good To Go has shared a simple way to use up sprouts without resorting to a stew.
The experts said: “Create pesto by blending roasted Brussels sprouts, garlic, lemon juice and your choice of toasted nuts. Enjoy stirred into a bowl of steaming pasta.”
Pesto is an Italian sauce that is often added to pasta dishes or salads.
The traditional recipe consists of crushed garlic, pine nuts, salt basil leaves, olive oil and a hard cheese like pecorino or parmesan.
However, other variations include different nuts, cheeses and herbs to create more unusual flavours.
Brussels sprout pesto requires similar ingredients and is fairly simple to make according to a recipe from Hedi Hearts.
Hedi claims the recipe is “healthy, quick and delicious” and can be mixed into pasta or noodles.
She used roasted Brussels sprouts for her recipe but you can use raw sprouts if you wish.
Brussels sprout pesto recipe
Ingredients:
- Two cups cooked Brussels sprouts, halved
- A third of a cup of walnuts, almonds or pine nuts
- One clove of garlic, crushed (or even more)
- A quarter cup of coconut oil or olive oil
- Juice from half a lemon
- Three tablespoons of grated parmesan cheese or nutritional yeast
- Salt and pepper.
Method:
1. Put all the ingredients into a blender and whizz it up until it’s a smooth consistency.
2. Once blended, taste it and add salt and pepper if you feel it needs it.
3. If the pesto is too chunky, add more oil until it’s more smooth.
Mix the pesto into pasta, or noodles, spread it on toast or add it to your baked potato.
