13 Apr Kale and Hemp Pesto Pasta

For this recipe I decided to use the Happy Earth People Chickpea Pasta, and Superfoods’ Hemp Oil and Hemp Seeds.

Serves 4 generous portions

INGREDIENTS

• Small handful shelled hemp seeds
• Happy Earth People Chickpea Pasta

Cook in boiling water with some oil and salt until al dente.

PESTO

• 3 cups kale leaves – take off the big stems
• 1 cup basil
• 1/3 cup raw cashew nuts (you can also use sunflower seeds or pine nuts)
• 60ml hemp oil
• 1/14 olive oil
• 2 tables spoons shelled hemp seeds
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Put all these ingredients into a blender – and blend until quite smooth but still has texture. You can add more oil or a little water if it struggles to blend.

TOMATOES

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 400g heirloom tomatoes
• 1/2 teaspoons crushed garlic – I pop a bulb in my Nutribullet and keep it in oil in the fridge
• a pinch of salt

On an extremely low heat and let them slowly simmer away until they open and their sweet juice mixes with the olive oil. Keep this liquid to pour over the pasta.

MUSHROOMS

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 250g brown mushrooms
• 1/4 tsp dried chilli
• 1/2 tsp thyme
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp balsamic vinegar
• 2 tbsp soy sauce

METHOD

1. Fry the mushrooms along with all the ingredients in a pan until the mushrooms are soft. I like to keep mine quite hard to that the don’t get too watery and are substantial to bite into.
2. Drain the pasta and add the pesto into the bowl and mix until the pesto covers all the pasta. Then add in half the mushrooms and stir them in. Dish onto plates and add the rest of the mushrooms and tomatoes on top. Drizzle with hemp oil and sprinkle hemp seeds on top and garnish with basil leaves.