Recipe Ideas: ARTICHOKE PESTO

• Stir through pasta for a quick and tasty supper or serve cold as a great pasta salad
• Add mayonnaise, sour cream and parmesan and serve warm as a dip for seasoned bagel chips
• Finish a pan fried chicken breast with white wine, cream and a spoonful of pesto
• Makes a stunning focaccia when combined with our Original Beer Bread Mix
• Dollop onto a margarita pizza with prosciutto and a swirl of Balsamic reduction when it comes out of the oven!
• Green Goddess Dressing: A twist on a ranch dressing, buttermilk & mayonnaise with Artichoke Pesto to taste
• Top puff pastry with the pesto and scatter with asparagus tips or wild mushrooms.
• Use as the filling for cannelloni or a version of Spanakopita – Greek filo pie with spinach and feta cheese
• Use the pesto to stuff mushrooms top with blue cheese & breadcrumbs and place under a hot grill

Pea and Pesto Soup

Award winning recipe from consultant Jo Favero

Serves 4

500g frozen peas
1 onion, chopped
3 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped
1 litre vegetable stock or light chicken stock
3 tbsp My Secret Kitchen Artichoke Pesto
1 tbsp My Secret Kitchen Smoked Rapeseed Oil
My Secret Kitchen Lemon & Chipotle Spiced Sea Salt
My Secret Kitchen Balsamic Reduction
chorizo to garnish (optional)

Saute the onion in the smoked oil in a large saucepan. Add the peas and potatoes and pour in stock. Bring to the boil and simmer for 10 minutes until potatoes are tender.

Remove ⅓ of the peas and potatoes and set aside. Add the pesto to the remainder and blend until smooth.

Stir in the peas and potatoes that set aside and season to taste with the Lemon & Chipotle Spiced Sea Salt.

Serve garnished with fried chorizo slices and a drizzle of Balsamic Reduction.

Green Goddess Dressing

Serves 8

For the dressing:
2 tbsp My Secret Kitchen Artichoke Pesto
1 tsp My Secret Kitchen Secret Spices: Wild Garlic
100ml buttermilk
200ml mayonnaise

8 Little Gem lettuces
My Secret Kitchen Lemon & Chipotle Spiced Sea Salt to garnish
Fresh basil leaves to garnish


Mix together all the ingredients for the dressing, then refrigerate. 

Quarter the Little Gem lettuces and arrange on a platter. 

When ready to serve, pour the dressing across the lettuces and garnish with the seasoned salt and basil leaves.

For an added touch, scatter crumbled crispy bacon over the top.

Jumbo Pasta Shells

Makes a lovely summer pasta dish - serve warm or cold

Serves 4-6

500g jumbo pasta shells
200g fresh peas
150g ricotta cheese
zest of 1/2 lemon
2 tbsp olive oil
3 tbsp My Secret Kitchen Artichoke Pesto
1 tsp My Secret Kitchen Lemon & Chipotle Spiced Sea Salt, ground

Boil the shells in salted water until al dente; drain and put to one side. 

In the warm pan, add the olive oil, artichoke pesto, peas, lemon zest and spiced sea salt and mix together.

Return the shells to the pan and stir gently with the artichoke mixture before adding the ricotta in teaspoon sized portions. 

Serve immediately with a parmesan crisp to garnish.